Connecting the Turnabouts
by Midnight Wrighter
Summary: Phoenix and Apollo each have a client to defend while Athena's visiting her family in Europe. Neither attorney suspects that their separate cases share an important, dark connection. Will they discover what this connection is? Meanwhile, Ema Skye is forced into an awkward living arrangement, and as a result, Miles Edgeworth must investigate an old, unsolved murder. (Discontinued.)
1. Chapter 1

**Well, I'm back with yet another multi-chapter Ace Attorney fanfiction story! I have a longer author's note at the bottom of the page, because when it comes to author's notes, I can be a real Wendy Oldbag! Rest assured though, I'm just a young college student, not an elderly stalker. :) Anyways, the story's got our favorite Wright Anything Agency lawyers, and trials with a certain glimmerous fop, a prosecuting prodigy, and another fun and relatively new (but not really new) prosecutor! Established ships are Feenris, Magshoe, and Justicykes, although they won't be the focus of this story. I'm hoping you guys like this first chapter! **

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_**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Ace Attorney series characters!**_

Chapter 1

_29 years. 29 long years it's been since that fateful day. Heh. Fateful day. Most people've forgotten it already, but I haven't. I never can, and I never will. They say those who don't learn their history are bound to repeat it. I'm not one of __**those.**__ I know my history. I don't need to learn it. _

_**Because I want to repeat it.**_

* * *

Slam! The sound of two fists hitting a desk echoed in the courtroom. "This was the item that Mr. Adam Neutron used to reel in the victim!" A loud, raspy voice declared.

"Er…Mr. Justice…I'm not sure what the meaning of this…evidence, is," stated a bearded man, his eyes wide at the sight of the evidence.

"Apollo! That's not what he used to lure the victim! Those are Trucy's magic panties!" An orange and red-haired attorney exclaimed.

"H-her…WHAT?!" Apollo Justice threw the magical prop, which a certain hawk had set his sights on.

"No! Apollo! Why would you do that?!" Athena Cykes pointed her finger in her objection pose. "Stop that bird!"

"Taka! Retreat!" Simon Blackquill called out from the other side of the courtroom, but it was too late. His pet bird had already bit into Trucy's beloved item and brought it to his owner.

"Simon. Please tell me that they aren't ripped," Athena pleaded.

Simon held the pink and blue prop with his fingers as far away from his being as possible. "I'm afraid they have been punctured slightly." He brought them closer and popped a finger through the hole in them. He glanced over at the defense's bench.

"Uh oh." Athena looked beside her, and soon the Judge joined.

_What is this, 'let's all stare at Apollo and creep him out' day?! _ Shoulders slumping, Apollo asked, "Uh…why are all of you staring at me?"

"Hm…oh! I-I'm not sure why. I just saw everyone else was doing it and figured I'd join in," The judge admitted.

…_At least he was honest._

"Apollo. Do you realize how much trouble you're in?! When Trucy finds out what happened to her magic panties…" His junior partner shuddered.

"B-b-but…it was that bird!" He pointed at Taka. "He's the one that made a hole in it!"

"Hmph. Justice-dono. Need I remind you that it is your defendant on trial here and not my bosom buzzard? Taka wouldn't have made a hole in them had you not flung them so. Besides…" Simon scratched Taka affectionately. "Trucy loves Taka, as he loves her. She will not place any blame on him."

"In other words, this is all my fault."

Athena nodded her head. "Yup!"

"…" _Nobody loves me, not even my girlfriend. _

"Can we please get back to the trial at hand and leave the discussion regarding Mr. Justice's dreary fate for later?"

"Hmph. Justice-dono. Perhaps you'd like to try again at presenting evidence?"

"Whoa! Are you actually being nice to me?" _There has to be a catch to this._

"Hmph. It is only out of pity that after this trial, you will have to face the wrath of a grand magician." The prosecutor smirked, holding a hand to his chin and jerking his head to the side. "One can only hope you escape unscathed from the sword of her vengeance."

_*Sigh* Well, at least I get a second chance to present evidence, kind of like getting a second chance in a video game. _Apollo once more slammed his desk. "As I was saying before, Mr. Neutron knew that someone found out about his nighttime experimentations. He was so desperate to not let his illegal activities be known that he resorted to murder. So he stole the victim's favorite fabric, her baby blanket, and placed it strategically in the lab so that she would come back to get it."

_This is it, Apollo. Don't mess this up. _He took a brief second to pause. "_This_," he emphasized as he held a blue fabric containing a bunch of pink hearts on it. "Is the aforementioned fabric he used to lure the victim, Molly Cule, to the lab. The fabric was tested by the forensics officers, and they confirmed that his DNA was on it, along with the victim's. In other words…" Apollo pointed at the witness stand. "Mr. Neutron used this fabric to suffocate Ms. Cule to death!"

The defendant was standing at the witness stand, searching through a small, green, rectangular box. He started out calmly, moving a few things in the box as he had been doing throughout the trial; however, his search became more frantic, his body hunched over the box, and he could be seen breathing heavily. Finally, he shut the box and lifted it in his hand. "Mmm… Er…grrrrr….AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!"

Apollo yelped as he saw the box launched into the air, heading towards him. He ducked down under the defense bench. Once he heard the box hit the wall and fall to the ground, the attorney stood up, only to yell out when another item was coming towards him. He didn't have enough time to dodge it, so he merely shut his eyes and waited for the impact.

"Whoa, Apollo. Just how much hair gel did you put on your horns this morning?" Athena questioned as she stared at his head.

_Hair gel? What is she…wait._ Apollo hesitantly opened one of his eyes to see some black object hanging in front of him. _What…oh. Oh!_ He lifted a hand up and pulled the black, stick-like object off of his horns. "What is this thing?"

"It's a model of some organic compound. From the looks of it, I would say it's some kind of an amine," piped a voice from the gallery. "It's from that modeling kit that was just thrown at you, which is used to create structures of molecules, particularly organic molecules."

"Thank you, Detective Skye. Mr. Neutron's reaction to the accusation seems to confirm that he is indeed the murderer in this case. Bailiff, please take him out of the courtroom," the Judge spoke. Once the man was escorted out of the room, the Judge shut his eyes. "Hm…I see there is no reason to continue this trial. This court finds the defendant, Mr. Silly Con…not guilty."

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"That was a close one," Apollo sighed, wiping the remaining sweat off his brow. He and Athena were standing in the defendant's lobby, where their client had thanked them before leaving.

"That was quite the job you two did there," a familiar voice spoke from behind Apollo.

"Mr. Wright!" Apollo turned around to see his boss, who was dressed in his usual blue attorney's suit. His attorney's badge shined in the light of the hallway as he approached them, a small smile on his face.

"Thanks, Boss! It got a little rough in there, but we managed to get our act together and turn the case right around!" Athena grinned at their boss. "It was nice to get this one last case in before I head off to Europe."

Apollo nodded, looking away slightly so that no one would see his frown. Athena was planning to visit her relatives in Europe, mentioning how it had been nearly three years since she had last seen her family. He didn't say anything about her upcoming departure, knowing that her fine-tuned hearing would pick up on his mixed emotions.

"How about we all go out to celebrate your victory? Maybe a stop at Eldoon's Noodles?" Phoenix suggested.

"Sounds like a great idea, Mr. Wright! I can never get enough of Eldoon's Noodles!"

Apollo smiled, shrugging his shoulders. "I guess I wouldn't mind getting some of Eldoon's noodles too."

"Ah, ah, ah, Apollo. You don't get noodles."

"What? Why not?!"

He felt someone tap on his shoulder, and turning around, the red-clad attorney nearly jumped in the air. He tilted his head up to be eye-to-eye with Prosecutor Blackquill, who was glaring down at him. _Did I do something to annoy him?!_

A few more seconds of silence, and the prosecutor spoke. "I believe you will be wanting these," Simon stated, handing Apollo the magical prop.

Phoenix pointed to the infamous magic panties. "That's why, Apollo." The younger attorney stared at the prop in his hand as Phoenix continued. "Trucy probably already finished classes for the day, and I told her to meet up with us at Eldoon's."

"In other words, you won't be around long enough to even eat any noodles," Athena added, smiling all too gleefully.

_Again…nobody loves me…wait! I have an idea!_

Crossing his arms, Apollo smirked. "Actually, I know exactly what I can do to fix this issue. Iris is probably out of college already. I'm sure she'd be more than happy to fix up Trucy's magic panties, and she'll do such a good job, Trucy wouldn't even know what happened." He noticed how Phoenix and Athena were speechless. _Ha. Take that!_

"I wouldn't know what happened?"

"AH!"

"Hey Polly, Athena, Daddy." Trucy Wright was now with them in the lobby, donned in her Troupe Gramarye magician's costume, although for the young magician, the outfit was part of her everyday attire.

"Trucy. What are you doing here? I thought we were going to meet at Eldoon's noodles," Phoenix said.

"Yeah, but I got out of class a bit earlier than usual, so I thought I'd come here so that we could all walk together!" She smiled brightly. "What were you saying earlier, Polly?"

"Oh! I…uh…nothing!" Apollo forced a smile as he held his hands behind his back.

"Hey. What's that you've got behind your back?" She asked curiously, looking over his shoulder. After a few attempts by Apollo to block Trucy, she managed to grab a hold of the panties. "Oh! My magic panties! I was wondering where they were! Why were you hiding these from me?"

"Oh…no reason."

"You're lying. What's wrong? ...Oh. I know."

"You…do?" Apollo asked, starting to feel nervous; however, rather than glare at him, Trucy was smiling rather mischievously.

"Yes I do. You were too embarrassed to admit that you had my magic panties with you, weren't you?"

After a moment of gaping at her, the attorney chuckled weakly. "Y-yeah. It _is_ pretty embarrassing, you know? Carrying around a pair of panties?"

"_Magic_ panties, and yeah, it is. But it's okay. I mean, it's not like you accidentally presented it as evidence in court, right?"

Phoenix and Athena snorted behind him, making Apollo's cheeks turn a little red. "R-right. Of course." Clearing his throat, he decided it was time to leave. "Come on. Let's get going. Can't keep Mr. Eldoon waiting."

On their walk towards the noodle vendor's stand, the Wright Anything Agency members relayed to each other their respective days: Trucy talking about what happened at school, Phoenix briefly describing his day alone at the office, and Athena and Apollo going over what happened in the trial.

As the two attorneys wrapped up their explanation of what occurred, Trucy interrupted them. "Apollo? Why is there a hole in my magic panties?"

Apollo's eyes widened, and he turned to see Trucy nearly glaring at him, her eyes demanding an explanation for the damage she had found. _Oh no…she found the hole in it._ "Um...uh...you see…Last one to Eldoon's has to eat two bowls of noodles!" He cried out before he dashed away from the group.

Trucy was right behind in an instant, waving her panties in the air as she yelled, "You ruined my panties!"

"Those two...Acting just like the siblings that they are. Heh." Phoenix looked beside him, expecting to see Athena, only she wasn't there.

"Don't even think you're going to get to Eldoon's first before _me_, Apollo!"

The older defense attorney watched as his two fellow attorneys and daughter ran down the street. He shook his head, chuckling. _Those kids... Whoa! I sound like an old man, thinking like that!_ Picking up the pace a little bit, Phoenix let his thoughts wander away from his age. _With Athena leaving for Europe, Apollo and I will have to manage more cases, which is fine...if we ever get any cases. It's been slow these days. Who knows if the agency will get even one case before she comes back?__  
_  
Little did Phoenix Wright know what the future had in store for the Wright Anything Agency lawyers.

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**Poor Apollo. It's only the first chapter, and I've already started picking on him, and considering he's a main character…I should feel bad (but of course, that means I don't).**

**(And queue the long author's note!)**

**I'm a science nerd, hence why I used some science name puns in this chapter! I know it isn't all that interesting (although I do hope that beginning part piqued your interest), but it should get better. It was meant to be a fun introduction, since I don't think there will be as many fun moments to come in the future. **

** I do intend to see this story to its end, as it's been floating around and developing in my head for around six months. I really want to do a good job writing it, with full investigations and trials. So I hope you decide to see where this story goes! I would be so happy if you left a review, and if you'd rather private message me, my inbox is always open! Thank you! Until the next chapter! **


	2. Chapter 2

**I had this chapter written for a long time, but I had to add the little details before I posted it. I hope it's somewhat interesting. I can guarantee the next chapter should be much more interesting! Please feel free to leave me review and let me know what you think and/or if you have suggestions! Thanks!**

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_**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Ace Attorney series characters!**_

Chapter 2

**March 5****th****, 1:15 PM**

**Wright Anything Agency**

_Trucy's at school. Iris is in class right now at the university, Athena's going to Europe, and Apollo's gone to send her off. That leaves…_

"Looks like it's just you and me, Charley." Phoenix Wright glanced down at the plant, which of course did nothing.

_I need to get a life…no. I have a life. What I need to get is a case._

After the case Apollo and Athena took on, the Wright Anything Agency hadn't gotten any defense requests, much to the owner's dismay. It had been nearly a month since Phoenix received a case.

The attorney sat down at his desk and began rearranging some papers. As he finished, his gaze fell on his wallet. _Hm…maybe I'll stop by Mr. Eldoon's again and buy some noodles for lunch._

He picked up his wallet and made his way out of the office room. Grabbing his suit coat, he shut the door behind him as he stepped outside of the agency. He took in a deep breath and exhaled. _It's nice to get some fresh air in my lungs._

Phoenix began walking in the direction of People Park, where the noodle vendor would be awaiting his business. _Hm…what kind of noodles am I going to get? Wait. I should consult my wallet and find out what kind of noodles I _**can**_ get._ Pulling out his wallet, he opened it up, expecting to see some cash sticking out.

_What? I don't have a single dollar in here. Heh. I guess I was right when I told Apollo this morning that I was broke. I better stop by the bank and get some money._

The defense attorney continued his walk, but with a different destination in mind. He turned onto the next street where the bank was located. _C. T. Zen Bank. I haven't been there in a while now. I wonder what's new. Oh…maybe they still have that coffee machine. I could use a free coffee right now._

As he got closer to the bank though, Phoenix noticed a vehicle parked in front of it. _That's weird. I thought that was a no parking zone. _On closer inspection however, he realized it wasn't just any vehicle. _That's…a police car. Hm…I wonder if Gumshoe is stopping by to get some money. I'm pretty sure he banks here, or maybe he's going to get a coffee too? It _**is**_ free._

"Please! It wasn't me! I swear, I didn't do it!" A male's voice cried out.

_What's going on? Who's yelling, and what does he mean that he didn't do it?_

Two officers came out of the bank doors with someone in tow. It was a man, donned in a white dress shirt that was covered with a gray suit coat, although his plaid tie managed to make its way around his neck. Judging from his face, Phoenix was sure the man was at least in his mid-forties, if not older. There wasn't much else too notable about the man. He was a little shorter than Phoenix with short.

_He's got handcuffs on him. Is he a bank robber? He isn't dressed like one._

"Why won't you listen to me?! I told you I didn't commit the crime!"

"Yeah, yeah. Save it for court," one of the officers said as they opened the back door of the police cruiser and ushered the man in.

Intrigued by the situation, Phoenix approached the officers. "Excuse me. What happened here?"

One of the officers who was writing something down looked up to Phoenix. "In the bank? Oh, the manager got murdered. This guy here's our prime suspect." The officer motioned with his head to where the man was inside the police car.

"The bank manager got murdered?!" _Wow. I wasn't expecting that._

"Yeah. A nasty hit to the head did him in. Now if you'll excuse us." The officer nodded before entering the car.

Phoenix watched him get in the car and then looked into back seat. The suspect of the murder was staring right back at him. The attorney averted his gaze for a second, only for it to return to meet the man's gaze. The police car soon rolled away, and Phoenix maintained eye contact with the man until the car was too far away.

He turned to look at the bank. Yellow caution tape was wrapped around the handles and taped to the door. It was dark inside the building, so Phoenix went up to the glass and tried to look inside. _It's way too dark for me to see anything._ He pulled away to see his reflection in the glass of the door. As he stared at himself, he was surprised to see the image slowly morph into the face of the man in the police car.

His straight-lined lips curved downwards, his nose became pointier, and his hair lost its signature spikiness, replaced by blonde hair that was combed back and appeared to be kept in pristine condition with hair gel. Furrowed brows were further furrowed, but what really caught Phoenix's attention was the change in eyes. The eyes that stared back at him were confused, sorrowful, helpless.

Shaking his head and taking a few steps back from the glass, the attorney began walking away from the bank. _Prime suspect, huh? I wonder what led them to believe that._

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**March 5****th****, 1:45 PM**

**Detention Center – Visitor's Room**

"You can go in now, Mr. Wright." The prison guard held the door opened for the attorney.

Thanking the other man, Phoenix entered the room, which was furnished with two desks against the wall and a chair in front of the glass partition. He stopped for a second when he saw the suspect sitting on the other side of the glass. The attorney opted to stand rather than sit in the chair, waiting for the other man to lift his gaze and acknowledge his presence. When he did, Phoenix introduced himself. "Hi. I'm Phoenix Wright. What's your name?"

For a moment, the man just stared at Phoenix. _…Um…did he not hear me? Should I speak louder?_ As he went to open his mouth and reintroduce himself, the man finally spoke.

"Mr. Wright. A…pleasure to meet you, although meeting in the detention center isn't exactly a pleasure. My name is Robin Banks."

_Robin Banks. That's an…interesting name._

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Banks. So…do you work at the C. T. Zen Bank?" _Maybe not. I don't remember seeing him there before, but then again, I haven't been to the bank in a while now._

Robin nodded. "I do. I'm a bank teller there. I worked at another branch just outside the city up until a couple of months ago, when I got transferred here."

_That explains it._ "I see. I'm not sure if you've heard of me, but I'm a defense attorney."

Robin's eyes widened at that tidbit. "You're…a defense attorney?" He asked, sounding a little skeptical.

"Yes, I am." _Ah. It's that time again. Boy, did I miss doing this. It's been too long._ Phoenix had to hold back a large grin as he presented his golden attorney's badge. "Here's my badge to prove it."

Robin took a look at the badge and nodded. "It looks like it could be a coin. You haven't mistaken it for a coin and nearly put it in a vending machine, have you?" He asked curiously.

For a moment, Phoenix was speechless. Then, he lifted his hand to scratch his neck, an awkward smile on his face. "N-no. That's never happened to me before." _But now that I think about it, it _**could**_ happen, if I put my badge in my pocket. I better be extra careful with it._ Making sure to re-pin the badge onto his lapel, he returned his attention to Robin, who had his head bowed down. "Mr. Banks. If you don't mind my asking, could you tell me what happened today?"

It took Robin a few moments before he started speaking. "I was working today at the counter. We closed up for lunch at 11:30. Some of the other accountants went out to eat lunch, but I stayed behind, since I packed my own lunch. Once I was done, it was already 12:55, so I put away some papers." Robin paused, his shoulders slumping.

"I went into the bathroom to wash up and get ready for when we reopened the bank. I came back and…and I found him…Mr. Monet."

"Monet?"

"Macon Monet. The bank manager, my boss. He was…on the floor, in front of the coffee machine. I didn't see him breathing, and he didn't respond when I called out to him, so I did all I could think of doing and called 911."

"Wait. _You_ called 911?" Phoenix asked to clarify.

"Yes, I did."

_If he called 911, why would they arrest him?_ "So the police came once you called 911. Were you the only one in the bank at the time, besides your boss?"

"That's right. It was just the two of us. He was behind the counters when I went to the bathroom."

_So he was the only one at the scene of the crime. Still. That doesn't seem like a good enough reason to have him arrested._ "Do you have any idea why the police were led to believe that you're the prime suspect?"

"Other than the fact that I was the only one there when they came, no. I don't know why they arrested me." With that, Robin let out a sigh. "Now here I am, under arrest for the murder of my boss, with no means of escaping the guilty verdict."

_Wow. This guy's given up already when nothing's even started yet._ Clearing his throat, Phoenix spoke up. "Mr. Banks. I know this question is going to sound…not so great, but I _need_ to ask you. Did you kill Mr. Monet?"

Robin fixed his gaze on Phoenix, making sure his green eyes were staring into Phoenix's as he stated firmly, "Mr. Wright. I did _not_ kill Mr. Monet."

_Either he's telling the truth, or he's an excellent liar. I'm going to go with my gut on this one._ "Since that's the case, I'd be more than happy to take on your defense."

"You…you want to defend me…in court? But there's no other suspect besides me, Mr. Wright."

Phoenix shook his head. "That doesn't matter. You told me you didn't kill him, and I'm going to take your word for it."

"But I'm the only one the police found at the scene of the crime at the time. No one else was there, save for that one patron."

"One patron?" Phoenix leaned closer. _This should be interesting._

"Yes. A man came in right when we opened up, and he was waiting to withdraw some money. He wasn't there when I found Mr. Monet though."

Phoenix nodded. "Hm…did you tell the police about this patron?"

"I was too shocked by their accusing me of killing Mr. Monet at the time when they arrested me, but when they questioned me here, I did make sure to mention it. The police said they were going to try to locate the man and question him, although they still believe I am at fault."

"Right. Well, I guess the game plan would be for me to go investigate the crime scene and see what information I can gather from there for your case."

"Mr. Wright. You're…you're really going to take on my case? You weren't joking?" Robin asked in disbelief.

"Why are you so surprised?"

"Because you literally just met me. Before today, you didn't know who I was. Even now, you still don't know who I really am, besides that I'm a bank teller and was arrested for the murder of C. T. Zen Bank's manager. I mean, I could be lying to you right now."

Phoenix smiled. "My mentor warned me about that. She told me how we never really know if our client is actually innocent or guilty. All we can do is believe in them. Right now, I see no reason not to believe in you."

Robin considered his speech, and for the first time since Phoenix arrived, he smiled. "Thank you, Mr. Wright. I leave my fate in your hands."

"Thank you. I'm going to go to the crime scene now, but I might come back in and visit. If not, I'll see you before your trial begins." With a quick wave of his hand, Phoenix left the visitor's room.

_Alright. To the C. T. Zen Bank to investigate! It'll be fun to do some investigation._

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**Ah yes. More name puns. I thank (or maybe blame) Ace Attorney for making me love name puns so much. The temptation to write the scene where Apollo sends off Athena is lingering, but it wouldn't necessarily add much to the story, save for probably some Justicykes fluff. If you guys want me to write something for it, please let me know, because I would be more than happy to do it! Otherwise, stay tuned for Phoenix's investigation! :)**

**Another note: In the story I wrote before this, Justicykes wasn't a couple, but I had a change in heart while writing****, and as a result, I ended up shipping Justicykes super hard! (I even wrote a one-shot for them called ****Turnabout Confession****, if you'd like to read that.) Speaking of ships, Feenris is my main AA ship, so you can expect there to be little sprinklings of them here and there. Nothing huge though. **

**I didn't mean to reference Mia so early on, but I felt it fit in there. That, and considering I don't have plans at the moment to actually include her in the story, I'd like to at least have her be an influence. And yes, even though there was a character named Robin in the series already, I couldn't possibly pass up on this name pun. Sorry (not really)!**


	3. Chapter 3

**It took me a little while to figure out what to do with this chapter, but I managed to pull a short little **_**something**_** off for dear Justicykes. **

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_**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Ace Attorney series characters!**_

Chapter 3

**March 5****th****, 1:00 PM**

**Hope Springs Airport**

**International Terminal**

"Ugh…I forgot how noisy airports can be _and_ how many people there are too," Athena grumbled as she pulled her suitcase behind her. "I actually wish I had those old headphones my mom made me." Walking behind her was Apollo, pushing the cart that had all of her luggage in it to be checked in. Glancing over her shoulder, she called out, "Really, Apollo. You didn't have to roll the cart. I could've done it myself."

"Oh, I know you can do it, but that doesn't mean I don't want to help you out. It's the least I can do." _That, and making sure I don't accidentally run into something or someone will keep me distracted, and I sure could use a distraction right now. _

They both walked up to the check-in area and stood in the slow-moving line, neither one saying a word to the other. Apollo figured his junior partner wasn't in a talking mood due to all of the people around. He certainly didn't want to talk, knowing how she'd instantly pick on his feelings.

Eventually, the couple finally made it to the desk, and Apollo helped to load the luggage off of the cart and onto the platform. As the attendant collected the paperwork from Athena, she smiled at them. "Ah. Are you and your boyfriend going on vacation together? That's cute."

That caused both attorneys to blush brightly and turned away from each other. _How does she know we're dating anyway? Is it that obvious?_

Athena managed to speak up, despite being flustered. "U-uh, actually, it's just me travelling. I'm going to visit my family."

The attendant nodded her head as she stared at her computer screen. "Ah, I see. You're going for about two or so months, huh?" In the midst of her typing, she briefly glanced up at Apollo, her smile now sympathetic. "I'm sure your boyfriend's going to miss you a lot."

_Does the lady have some kind of grudge against me that I'm not aware of?!_ The older attorney could feel his girlfriend's gaze on him, so he made sure to appear interested in the tiled floor. He decided it was best to tune out the rest of the conversation and only lifted his head up when the attendant wished Athena a nice trip.

"Come on, Apollo. We should walk over to the departure's area." Grabbing a hold of his arm with one of hers and using her free hand to hold onto her rolling bag, Athena led the way.

_Why is she in such a rush to leave? Well, I guess it's because she hasn't seen her family in quite a while. That's okay, but…_ He stopped his train of thought when Athena stopped walking.

Turning around to face him, the yellow-clad attorney checked her boarding pass. "I've got an hour and a half before the flight boards. I'll be spending almost eleven hours of my life on an airplane, flying over the country and over the Atlantic Ocean! It's going to be hard to keep myself occupied during the ride. I mean, it's not like I can jog around the airplane."

Apollo smiled a little at her words, but the smile didn't reach his eyes, which were angled away from Athena. _What do I say to her?_

"That's odd. Isn't this the time you're supposed to tell me you'll be fine?" She teased lightly, only to frown at his lack of a reaction. "Apollo. It's only for a couple of months. I'll be back before you know it."

"I know that," he mumbled. _It's easy for you to say. While you're visiting your family, the most I'll be doing is sitting around the office, missing you. I doubt I'll have any cases either, given how slow things have been lately, and that'll just make me miss you more. It just won't be the same without you._

"You've got Mr. Wright to keep you company. Trucy. And don't forget Iris," she reasoned with him.

"Mr. Wright is definitely going to make me clean the toilet more often, especially since you're not going to be there. Trucy's going to have me be her special magician's assistant, which pretty much means I'm going to be her guinea pig for new tricks, and Iris…well Iris is pretty chill, but you never know."

"Excuses, excuses, Apollo," Athena wagged her finger, smirking. She then placed her hands on her hips, becoming more serious. "I don't need Widget to tell me what your emotions are right now. I didn't even need you to speak to know how you feel either. I'll make sure to stay in touch with you as much as I can, okay? And remember, we can always video chat. Wait. Not can. We _will_ video chat."

"Okay. What time would we do it though?"

"Hm…how about in the afternoon? Maybe around two. It'd be about five o'clock in the morning here." She grinned, adding, "I wouldn't be interrupting your Chords of Steel exercises, would I?"

It was Apollo's turn to smile as he shook his head. "Don't worry about that. I can always delay my Chords of Steel so we can talk."

"You…you'd put off doing your Chords of Steel…just to talk to me bright and early in the morning? Oh Apollo! You're such an awesome boyfriend!" She reached out and wrapped her arms around him tightly.

He had been caught off-guard when she lunged at him, but he nevertheless relaxed into her embrace, returning it wholeheartedly. Her grip became tighter around him, almost reaching the point where Apollo was worried about having his circulation cut off. _It's fine though. I should treasure this moment. I'm going to have to wait two months before I can hold her in my arms again._

"Apollo…I'm going to miss you," he heard her whisper quietly into his ear.

For a few seconds, his eyes were wide, but then they softened. Of course, she was just as upset as Apollo was, even though she'd worked hard not to show it. Patting her back, he replied, "I'll miss you too, Athena." Pulling away but keeping his arms around her waist, he added, "But you'll be fine, and I'll be fine too."

"You're right. I'm Athena Cykes, and I'm fine. More importantly, you're Apollo Justice, and you're fine. We'll both be fine." Her blue eyes stared intently into his brown ones, and Apollo could feel his cheeks heat up as she leaned in closer to him and pressed her lips lightly against his own.

"Ewww! That boy's going to get cooties from that girl!" A little kid cried out beside them, pointing his finger at the couple. Almost positive he was referring to them, the two lawyers pulled away and watched as the child's parents led him away.

Athena frowned. "What a rude kid. As if I have cooties."

"More like as if there's such a thing as cooties," Apollo corrected her, not too pleased about having their kiss ended abruptly.

An automated message came through the intercom. "Attention. This announcement is for all passengers going on the iFly Airlines flight to London. All passengers are asked to proceed through security and go to the gate. Again, this announcement is for all passengers going on the iFly Airlines flight to London. All passengers are asked to proceed through security and go to the gate. Thank you."

"That's my flight." She took hold of her suitcase handle once more. "Take care of yourself, Apollo. And take good care of our Wright Anything Agency family. Oh, and if you get the chance, keep an eye on Simon for me, okay?"

"I can definitely do those first two parts. As for keeping an eye on Prosecutor Blackquill…" _Someone should really keep an eye on me. With Athena being out of the country, who knows what Blackquill will try to do to me? I still don't think he's too pleased with me dating Athena…_

"Just make sure he doesn't get himself into trouble. How's that?" She compromised.

"That's fine."

She nodded and then stood in place. _She needs to go._ "Athena." She didn't respond, so he spoke louder. "Athena." When she lifted her head, he noticed her downcast eyes and smiled gently. "You need to go. You have a flight to board."

"I know. Bye…Apollo."

"Bye Athena. Have a great trip." The attorney watched as his girlfriend walked in the directions of the gates, until she finally got swallowed into the crowd of travelers.

_Wait! I forgot to tell her, and…now it's too late to say it._ After a few moments of hesitation though, the attorney clenched his fists, shut his eyes, and shouted at the top of his longs, "I LOVE YOU!" He opened his eyes, sighing as he ignored the few stares of passers-by. _Great. I just made myself look like a crazy person. I bet she didn't even hear me._ He turned around to walk towards the exit when he felt his phone buzz in his pocket. Taking it out, he saw it was a text message from Athena. He couldn't help the huge, goofy grin that spread across his lips.

"I love you too."

* * *

**My fellow Justicykers, I feel as if I have failed you in delivering a fluffy chapter, not to mention this is super short. I apologize and give you permission (encourage you, really) to utilize your Chords of Steel to voice your opinions and make yourselves be known and heard. I'll try my best to add some more Justicykes into the story, although I can't promise a lot. On another note, an actual investigation's coming up in the next chapter, so there's something to look forward to! Thanks for reading! **


	4. Chapter 4

**Fair warning that this is my first time actually writing a legitimate Ace Attorney-like investigation, so there's bound to be some mistakes made. I've been playing some of the older cases and trying to figure out how investigations go. Hopefully, as the story goes on, they'll get better. **

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_**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Ace Attorney series characters!**_

Chapter 4

**March 5th, 2:15 PM**

**C. T. Zen Bank**

**Lobby**

_Getting access to the crime scene went a little too smoothly than I thought it would. I better be on the lookout for the twist._ The attorney was standing in the middle of the bank lobby. There weren't many people there. Three forensics officers were near the outline of the body, and Phoenix was informed they were wrapping up their investigation.

_Where do I start? I wonder if there's anyone I can talk to that isn't part of the law enforcement._ That's when he noticed a young woman standing in the corner, seemingly watching the forensics officers. Her gaze was glued on the white outline. She was wearing a simple black suit and black pencil skirt, her only notable feature being her blonde hair, which was tied back in a neat bun.

_I wonder if she has any useful information, although she looks pretty scared. If I went up to her, she might faint, she looks so pale. I'll make sure to talk to her later. _

He continued looking around the large space, trying to figure out where to officially begin his investigation. He caught sight of a coffee machine near a few red couches. He remembered Robin mentioning how the victim was near the coffee machine. _So they got another coffee machine._ _Hm…I could go for a cup of coffee right now…Wait! This is a scene of a crime! I need to set my priorities straight. Investigate first, drink coffee later._ Shaking his head, he turned away from the tempting machine, and his gaze wandered back to the body's outline.

_Finally! They're done. Now time to officially start this investigation._ He wasted no time going over there and he knelt down to get a closer view. _So this is where the bank manager was found when the police came. It's a carpeted floor._

"Grumbling to yourself and trying to ignore me isn't going to do you any good."

Phoenix looked up, recognizing the voice. _Oh boy. This is going to be fun._ He got up from his kneeling position to get a better view of the two new people at the scene, not that he really needed to.

"Don't talk to me, fop. Can't you see it's snacktime?" Detective Ema Skye began munching vehemently on her snackoos. She was wearing her white lab coat over her regular clothes, with her purse at her hip.

_Yeah. Definitely fun._

"Ah. Herr Wright! I should've expected you to be here." Klavier Gavin greeted the attorney. The prosecutor was dressed in his usual plum jacket and leather pants. His chain shined on his chest, showing his former occupation as the lead member of the Gavinners.

_Klavier Gavin. Former lead singer and guitar player for the hit boy band, Gavinners. Although the band's long disbanded, he's still known as being one of America's, and the world's, most-wanted heartthrobs. He's currently a prosecutor working under Edgeworth, and a good one at that. _

"Wright?" Ema temporarily forgot about her snackoos, and when she saw Phoenix, she smiled and rushed towards him, leaving Klavier behind. "Mr. Wright! I didn't know you were the attorney for this case!"

_And then we have Ema Skye. Happy, bubbly, and enthusiastic science student turned grumpy, dull, and unenthusiastic detective who works at the local precinct and has a serious snacking problem. She's a good friend of mine though, and she gets along well with Trucy and Apollo…somewhat well. _

Phoenix chuckled a bit, secretly pleased with Ema being in a genuinely happy mood to see him. "Ha ha. Yeah, I took on the case just a little while ago, actually. I'm assuming that Prosecutor Gavin will be handling it?"

Mentioning the prosecutor caused the detective's smile to fade and be replaced by a scowl. "Unfortunately, which means I have to help him investigate." With a quick glance at Klavier, Ema leaned closer to whisper. "I'll be more than happy to help you out though, Mr. Wright."

"Uh…thanks, Ema, but I don't want you to get in trouble." _And I'm sure Edgeworth wouldn't appreciate that either, if he was to find out._

She waved a hand that was holding onto a snackoo. "I won't get in trouble. What's the worst he could do, cut my salary?" Her frown suddenly deepened. "One more step fop, and expect a snackoo to get up close and personal with your eyeball."

Phoenix saw Klavier hold his hands up defensively as he stood in place, less than a couple of feet away from the detective. _Wow. Never thought I'd feel bad for Prosecutor Gavin of all people. She really doesn't seem to cut him much slack. _

"Herr Wright. You're going to be defending Herr Banks at the trial tomorrow, ja?"

Phoenix nodded his head. "Yes, I am."

"Uber-cool. It'll be nice to rock out in court with you once again," Klavier said, snapping his fingers. "It's been much too long since our last courtroom collaboration."

_Collaboration? More like confrontation. The last time we were in court, you caught me presenting forged evidence and made me look like an unethical defense attorney. I hardly call that a collaboration, but at least he did apologize for it. And he wasn't completely at fault._

At that thought, Phoenix couldn't help but frown. _The person to blame is his own brother, Kristoph Gavin. I'm pretty sure his execution's coming up soon. I wonder how Prosecutor Gavin is handling that __impending event__?_

Klavier of course had no idea what was going through the other man's head. The prosecutor ran hand through his hair, throwing his head back before smiling at the attorney. "I wish we could chat more, but we are here to investigate, ja? I'll see you in court, Herr Wright. Come on, Fräulein. It's investigation time."

Phoenix watched as the duo walked away, or rather, Klavier strutted away with Ema trudging along behind him. _That wasn't too bad. At least Ema didn't pelt him with snackoos, but he's right. It's time to investigate._

The attorney turned back to examine the location of the body. _Hm...looks like he was standing right near this table. I wonder if he was struck from behind?_ He noticed a few round circles around the outline. _What are those little circles doing there? Could they be something important?_

Phoenix noticed a forensics officer nearby and called out to him, only to be ignored. _Gee. Thanks for ignoring me._

"Something you need, Mr. Wright?"

"Ema! Er…aren't you supposed to be with Prosecutor Gavin?"

The detective was back in the area with the prosecutor nowhere in sight. She shrugged, finishing up chewing on her snackoo before continuing to speak. "He's talking to the forensics officers, I think. I figured it'd be much more fun to see what you were up to. What did you need to ask that forensics officer?" She asked curiously.

"I wanted to know what the cause of death was for the victim. I never found out."

"Blunt force trauma to his head. I didn't quite catch if death was instantaneous, but I have a hunch it was."

"Blunt force trauma to his head…" Phoenix repeated. "Was there any bleeding?" He stared down at the ground, looking for signs of blood on the black carpet. "I don't see any."

"Wait a second, Mr. Wright!" The attorney watched as the detective stowed away her snackoos and shuffled through her bag. She pulled out a spray bottle. "Luminol testing fluid, a girl's best friend."

_A forensic investigator's best friend, to be more specific._ "Good idea, Ema. But wait. I'm sure the forensics officers must've checked if there was any traces of blood."

Ema frowned a little. "Mr. Wright. One must never pass up the chance to use luminol. Here you go."

Phoenix accepted the bottle, only to stare at it for a moment. "Would you like to do the honors, Ema? I know you get super excited doing this stuff." _I saw that sparkle in her eyes when she brought out that bottle. _

"I…well…" She shut her mouth, now frowning and crossing her arms. "I don't get super excited…" She quickly reclaimed the bottle. "But if you insist."

Phoenix held back a smirk as he watched Ema spray the substance all around the body's outline. "Alright then. Now to use my special glasses!" She lowered the glasses on her head so that they were perched on her nose. "Whoa…"

"What? What do you see?"

She pulled out another pair of shades from her bag and handed them to him. "Take a look and see for yourself."

The attorney did just that, and he gasped at the site of a huge, blue stain. "There's…a huge pool right near the head!"

"Mhmm. Which means that-"

"Herr Monet sustained quite the injury when he was hit in the head, ja?"

"Ah!" Phoenix and Ema yelped at the unexpected voice.

"You fop! Are you trying to induce a heart attack in us? What do you want?!"

"I was just checking to see what you guys were looking at. Good find though, Fraulein Detective. The forensics officers didn't claim to find any blood, but you've proven them wrong. I'm impressed."

"Whatever. Any forensic investigator would use luminol to test for blood in this kind of case. After all, he was hit in the head. How can anyone be so sure that he didn't bleed?"

_Wow. A simple thanks was probably all Prosecutor Gavin was looking for._

"You're quite right, Fraulein. I'll have to report to their boss about their lacking skills. They could definitely learn a thing or two from you, ja?"

"But sir, you told us not to use luminol so that Detective Skye could get a chance to use it," one of the forensics officers piped in suddenly.

Phoenix quirked an eyebrow as he smirked a little. "Is that so, Prosecutor Gavin?"

The prosecutor tugged at a lock of hair, an almost sheepish grin appearing on his face. "I…may have made that tiny request. I hope you don't mind, Fraulein Detective." When the detective didn't respond, Klavier looked around, only to hear someone mumbling below them on the ground.

_Looks like Ema's too preoccupied with her find. Poor Gavin. He's pretty desperate to get in her good graces. I kinda feel bad for him._

"Fraulein? Are you done admiring that bloodstain? We've yet to progress through our investigation. We can't waste time."

Ema glared up at him. "You can't rush science, fop. And I have no intention of getting up until I feel my scientific investigation's complete."

"Heh. Fraulein Detective. I know how much you love your scientific investigation, but need I remind that you're my _subordinate_?"

_Oh no. Ema's giving him a death glare. Prosecutor Gavin is asking to get snackoo'd. I better continue my investigation elsewhere._ "How about you two work here, and I'll just…" As the detective began yelling at the prosecutor, Phoenix took a few steps away from them. "Never mind."

The attorney decided to examine the counter next, which was conveniently a ways away from the argumentative pair. _Hm...I wonder which one is Mr. Banks's?_ There were five spaces for the bank tellers, but only three of them had nameplates. "Percy N. Tage." He went to the next one. "Lois Price." He noted that there was a bowl of peppermint candies and lollipops next to the plate. _Hm…those candies look pretty good, but I guess if I took one, I'd be tampering with the crime scene and potential evidence._

Finally, the attorney reached his client's area. "Robin Banks." He examined the countertop, and the first thing that caught his attention was a business card holder, which contained a few cards in it. Taking one out, the attorney read it aloud. "Robin Banks. Bank Teller." The card had his phone number as well as the bank's address on it. _Not sure how this would come in handy, but might as well keep it in my pocket._

There wasn't much else on the counter, other than a card swipe machine, some brochures about the bank, and a few pens. Phoenix continued his investigation, wandering towards a gated area. _Hm…the gate is closed._ He noticed a keypad right next to it. _I wonder if it's open._ He gave the gate a push, only to be met with resistance. _As if I expected it to open._

He eyed a door that was right near the gate on the other side. "I wonder what's behind that door…" he thought aloud, not expecting to have someone respond to his question.

"I'm pretty sure it's where they keep the safe deposit boxes, Mr. Wright."

Standing beside him was Ema. Again. _I'm guessing she and Prosecutor Gavin have finally stopped fighting. _"Makes sense, I guess. Wouldn't want just anyone who comes into the bank to have access to safe deposit boxes."

"Yeah." The detective began munching on her snackoos, only to pause and hold one up to him. "Snackoo?"

"Er…no thanks." Phoenix let out a defeated sigh. _I have no idea where to go from here. I need to get more information, or find some evidence._

"If you want to *MUNCH* get more information *MUNCH* or find some evidence, *MUNCH* how about you head over there where the body was found?"

_That's what I was doing before Prosecutor Gavin came over and the two of you started arguing._ "Good idea, although it would be nice to talk to the detective who's in charge of the investigation. They'd be sure to have all of the information I need." He noticed that Ema's munching was quicker, and she was stuffing snackoo after snackoo into her mouth. _Why do I get the feeling something's wrong? Wait…_ "Ema…you're not the head detective for this case, are you?"

The detective paused her chewing, swallowing hard. She then turned her head to the side, grimacing. "There was a detective assigned to this case before me, but there was a last minute change, so yeah, I am. But I don't know much about what exactly happened here. I'm just as clueless as you are, Mr. Wright."

_Ouch, that hurt. But it's nice to know there's someone else here who knows only as much as I do._

"Which is why I thought we could investigate together. Like the good ol' times." She smiled faintly.

_Ol' times? We investigated one case together, but she did end being very helpful. And we both need some assistance._ "So who _does_ know about this case?"

"Forensics, and the officers who got here on scene when the 911 call was made. Probably the fop too, but I doubt he knows nearly as much as they do."

"Right." _I really don't want to have to talk to Prosecutor Gavin and interrupt his investigation. We may be working towards uncovering the truth, but we still have to battle it out in court in order to reach that truth. _"First thing's first. We need to figure out what the murder weapon was."

"The murder weapon. One of the officers said that they found an object right near the victim, and that they suspected it to be the murder weapon."

"Oh? What's the object?"

"A binder. It has a list of a whole bunch of products from some shop, although we have no idea what shop it's from yet."

"You mean to say that a binder was used to kill the manager?" Phoenix asked, the skepticism evident in his voice. _That's odd. Can a binder really inflict that much damage on a person?_

"That's what they said, although I can understand why you'd be skeptical about it. Apparently, the sharp end of the binder was used to hit him in the back of his head, causing him to bleed. Maybe the culprit hit the victim really hard with it."

"That's a possibility. Was there blood on the binder?"

"Yeah, and it belonged to the victim."

"What about fingerprints?"

"Apparently, there were two sets of fingerprints found on it. One set was unidentified, and the other set matches Mr. Banks's fingerprints."

Phoenix groaned. _Just great. That's definitely what I wanted to hear._ "Wait. So whose are the other fingerprints?"

"They're not sure yet. It's still being looked into."

_Hm…I'll have to wait until the trial tomorrow to learn more about this binder, but for now, I'll keep note of it. _"I wish there was some way we could at least get through this gate, but for that, we'd need to know the code."

"Mr. Wright. When will you learn that science is the bestest friend you can have?" Ema shook her head. "You can just use a fingerprinting set!"

"Oh. Right. I forgot about that." He stared at Ema, who stared right back at him. "Er…"

"Well? Where is it?"

Phoenix frowned. "Where's what?"

"Your fingerprinting set, obviously." Ema rolled her eyes.

"Oh. I don't have it with me. It's at the office." _Please don't get mad and snackoo me. _

"That's the kind of thing you need to keep with you at all times, Mr. Wright!" The detective scolded him as she reached into her bag to pull out her own set. "I think I should be the one to dust for fingerprints, since you didn't have your set."

_As if I'd try to get in your way of scientific investigating, Ema. _"I have no objections. Dust away."

In a matter of minutes, fingerprints could be seen on the keypad. "According to these fingerprints, the code for this lock is…15689." Pulling a glove onto her hand, Ema entered the code, and with a small beep, the gate unlocked. "Ah, science. What would we do without it?"

Phoenix nodded, pushing the gate open and walking into the area. _Finally. Time to find something useful!_ The attorney did a quick glance of the area. "So this is where the bank tellers stand when they're working. Looks pretty normal, at first glance."

Against the wall was a long shelf. On it were pamphlets for the many services the bank offered, along with some applications. "Doesn't look like there's anything interesting on this side," Phoenix said.

"Then you probably wouldn't say the same about this side," Ema replied, causing Phoenix to turn around. She was looking at the areas where each teller stood. "Looks like they can personalize this area with whatever they want."

"Yeah. Looks like it." _So Mr. Banks stands between Lois Price and Percy N. Tage…_ Phoenix started with examining Percy's area, which had a few small pictures of some children. _Well…Percy seems like quite the family man. _The attorney stared at a picture frame in which a happy family was posing at the foot of some stairs. _I should put that picture we took at Christmas on my desk. It'd make it look more personable._

There was a notepad also in the area that Phoenix noticed. "There's something written on this." He leaned down and read what was written on the front page. "P, dash, 20. N, dash, 64. D, dash, 157. Q, dash, 398." There was more written, but he didn't bother to read the rest. "Ema. Do you have any idea what this means?"

The detective glanced over his shoulder to read the paper. "The only thing that comes to mind seeing that is bingo. Maybe this…Percy person likes to play bingo?" She suggested.

Phoenix refrained from making any comments out loud, although the grimace on his face spoke volumes. _That's…probably not it, Ema._ "I don't know if this has anything to do with our case, but might as well make a note of it." He skipped one area and went to the one that belonged to Lois Price.

"Hey Mr. Wright. Here's another notepad, but this one only has one number on it. 1000. I wonder what the significance of that number is."

"No idea, but it probably wouldn't hurt to keep it in the back of our minds," Phoenix responded as he examined the area further. Just as he had noticed on the countertop on the other side, there were more candies in the area. "This person seems to be quite fond of candies. They have so many here."

"Candy does taste good, but nothing beats snackoos," Ema mused, taking out a bag of snackoos.

_And she begins eating snackoos again. Hopefully, she won't munch so loud that I can't hear myself think. I can't imagine how Apollo and Trucy investigated with her all those times._ "It doesn't look like there's anything else notable here."

"What about the calendar? There's a circle around February 28th. 'Meet with BF.'"

"BF? What's BF?"

"Maybe it's meet with her best friend?"

"Or it could be boyfriend?"

"Yeah, I guess it could be that too," Ema grumbled, going back to munching on her snackoos. "You don't *MUNCH* think it's *MUNCH* important, do you?"

"Not really. I mean, I can't see how it would be related to what happened today."

"Okay, let's move on then." Ema took a few steps and stopped. "This is where your client stands, isn't it?"

"Yeah." _I really hope I find something interesting here._ "Let's see…" Compared to the other two tellers' areas, Robin had numerous things in his space. "Here's a simple alarm clock." Phoenix pointed to a round, red alarm clock with the two bells on the side.

"I bet it makes a really loud noise when it's set," Ema said, leaning forward to read the time. "Well, it's displaying the right time, and apparently, he sets it to one o'clock. Why does he set it at one o'clock?" She wondered out loud.

"Well, the bank reopens at one, doesn't it? Maybe he uses it as a reminder."

"Or maybe he likes to take naps after lunch and sets an alarm so that he wakes up in time for when this place opens again. I do that sometimes at the precinct when I don't have a case to work on."

_Somehow, I can see that happening with you, Ema._ "What else has he got here?" There was a mug on which there was a message. "Bankers have dollars and sense. Heh." He chuckled at the pun, only to get an odd look from Ema. "Get it? Sense as in the word sense, and sense as in cents, like coins."

"O-oh. Right. I knew that," she mumbled. "But that probably doesn't have any relevance to the case either."

"Yeah. Just some comic relief, if anything," he responded. "That's all there is to see here." Phoenix turned around to see another object against the wall away from the counter. "It's a piggy bank."

"A very shiny piggy bank. It looks like it's made of steel." Ema grabbed it with one gloved hand. "Whoa…it _is_ made with steel." She shook it a bit, and a jingling sound could be heard. "And there's money in it too."

"I wonder how much." _Why would there be a piggy bank in a bank?_

"What's the point of having a piggy bank in a bank? Hm…maybe they keep it here because it's cute."

_That doesn't explain why it has money in it._ "It is weird, don't you think? They must keep coins and dollar bills in a safe place that _isn't_ a piggy bank."

"They probably keep it in some secret, barely accessible place." Ema stepped away from the space and walked all the way to the other side, away from the gate and the safe deposit boxes doorway. "Here's a computer…and a money counter."

Phoenix followed her. "You're right." There was a sign on the computer's screen. "Broken. Complaint for repair work filed on March 5th." _What's this computer used for? Maybe Mr. Banks can tell me._ After doing some more examination, Phoenix shook his head. "That's all we'll find on this side, I think."

"So what's your next move, Mr. Wri-"

"Fraulein Detective? Where are you?"

"Ugh…" Ema groaned, rolling her eyes. "Maybe I can hide under this countertop. He wouldn't be able to find me."

"Ema. Just go and see what he wants. Who knows? He might have gotten some more information on what happened."

"As if. I'm sure our investigation was much better than his, but I probably should go see what he needs. The last thing I need is for him to get me in trouble. But what will you do?"

"I think I might head back to the detention center and have another chat with Mr. Banks, see what else he has to say about the case, if he's out of questioning, that is."

"Alright then. I'll see you court tomorrow, Mr. Wright. Good luck."

Phoenix waved to the detective as she trudged off, and he then went through the gate and went to the front entrance. He suddenly stopped to turn around and look into the bank once more.

_I never did get to talk to that woman. I could stick around a little more and try to find her._

As soon as the thought crossed his mind, he heard someone cry out in pain, along with a familiar voice shouting. _I'll just assume she's not here right now and leave. Hopefully, she doesn't have any important information I could use in the trial. I'll have to wait and see._

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**I know the intros for Klavier and Ema weren't necessary, but I kinda wanted to experiment with how Phoenix would describe them to someone who's never met them before. Also, I know Ema seemed just a bit too happy in this than is usual for her character, but I like to think that investigating with Phoenix brings back memories from back when she was her happy, fun-loving self. That, and there's science too, and we all know how much she loves science! **


	5. Chapter 5

**This is a filler chapter, just wrapping up the end of the investigation. Of course, I have a longer author's note at the bottom.**

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_**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Ace Attorney series characters!**_

Chapter 5

**March 5****th**

**Detention Center**

**Visitor's Room**

"How did the investigation go, Mr. Wright?" From the bank, Phoenix returned to the detention center to further question Robin.

"It went…well enough. I managed to gather some information, but I wish I'd gotten more." Phoenix looked through the glass at his client. "I had a few questions to ask you, Mr. Banks. If you don't mind that is."

"Not at all, Mr. Wright. Ask away."

"For starters, when I was looking around your work area, I noticed that you didn't have notepad, while your other coworkers did. Did it go missing?"

Robin frowned, smoothing a hand over his blonde hair. "My notepad? Why, I don't recall losing it. I'm positive I used it just today when I was working. You didn't see it?"

"No, I didn't. What did you have written in it?"

"Just a list of errands I needed to run and matters I needed to resolve. I jot random notes on it as well, to keep it all in one place. It works much better than sticky notes, let me tell you." The man shook his head, chuckling. "You should've seen my work area at my old workplace. There were sticky notes everywhere."

"Right." _That mental image makes me feel better about my desk._ "We'll have to keep an eye out for that then."

The man became serious again. "You don't think that notepad is related to the case, do you?"

"It's hard to say at the moment, but we'll have to see." _If he did use his notepad today, then where did it go? Did someone take it? _The attorney thought about what else he wanted to ask his client. "Oh! That's right! At the crime scene, I found out that the murder weapon was determined as being a binder. A binder that…has _your_ fingerprints on it, Mr. Banks."

Robin was taken aback. "A b-binder?! Where did you find the binder?!"

_Why does he seem so worried about it?!_ "Er…I didn't find it myself. One of the investigators told me about it."

"I see. I apologize for my reaction. I must have seemed suspicious."

_Yeah, you kinda did._ "It's alright, but is something the matter? What was the binder for?"

"That binder is for a fascinating store I came across. It's called Varia T. There's a whole assortment of interesting, well, miscellaneous, items sold there. I expressed my interest in the merchandise there, so the owner brought that binder to the bank. It has a huge list of products he sells in the store, and it even has products that aren't available in the store. He happens to be a client of ours too."

"Wow. That's convenient." _Too convenient. I should find out more about this owner._ "Could you tell me more about the owner of the store?"

"Of course. His name is Benny Factor. Nice, friendly man. A bit up there in terms of his age, but still quite pleasant, although he is a bit too talkative for my personal taste."

"Benny Factor. And you said he's a client of the bank? Does he know the people there?"

"I think so. He was familiar with me, since I'd gone to his shop before, and I think he knew a few of the other bank tellers as well."

"Did he know Mr. Monet?"

"Hm…I'm not quite sure, Mr. Wright. He may have, but I don't remember seeing them interact. Why do you ask?"

"Just curious." _This Benny guy…I need to try to meet him if I can._ "So he owns the store Varia T, huh?" _Real original name right there._

"Yes. How about you go pay him a visit? If not to investigate, I highly recommend you see the many products on sale at his shop. It's a nice place. You could spend hours perusing through there. I'll tell you the address."

Phoenix jotted down the address. "Thanks. I might just go do that when I leave here. Oh, and Mr. Banks. There was this woman at the bank when I went there. She had blonde hair and was wearing a black outfit. Who is she?"

The guard at the door cleared his throat. "The police need to question to the suspect, Mr. Wright."

"Oh." The attorney checked his watch. "This'll be the last time I see you before tomorrow, Mr. Banks, since visiting hours end soon. Take care, alright. I'll do my best to get you your not-guilty verdict."

"Thank you, Mr. Wright. Good luck with the rest of your investigation and have a nice evening. I look forward to seeing you tomorrow."

Phoenix watched as his client was escorted out of the room. He read a scrap piece of paper he had in his hand. "Varia T. Time to go check this place out."

* * *

**March 5****th**

**Shop Street**

**Varia T Front Entrance**

_Well there goes my plans for talking to Benny Factor. *sigh*_ A huge red "Sorry. I'm closed" sign was hanging on the inside of the red wooden door. Phoenix stood there, staring at it for a moment. He stepped away from the entrance and went to the glass window, where he figured there were items on display for passers-by to see.

_There's a sheet of fabric covering the window. Huh. That's weird. What could be behind it, and why is the sheet there in the first place, to prevent theft? Although…if I was a thief and I saw this, I might be more tempted to go inside and see if there's anything valuable in there…but I'm not a thief. I'm an attorney. _

Shaking his head, Phoenix exhaled deeply, his shoulders sagging a bit with disappointment. He'd been eager to speak with the shop owner and find out if he had any involvement in the case.

_No other choice now but to return to the office. It is starting to get late anyway. _As he turned around, he'd bumped into someone. "I'm sorry. Are you…" He trailed off when he saw the person just continue walking. They were wearing jeans and a gray hoodie. The only physical characteristics he managed to see were the person's medium height and black hair. "…Okay?" _They must be if they didn't even bother to stop and talk. Oh well. To the office._

* * *

**March 5****th**

**Wright Anything Agency**

When the defense attorney got back to the office, Trucy was there to greet him. "Hey Daddy! Where have you been? We've been waiting for you for a while now."

Phoenix paused taking off his jacket. "We?" _Does she mean Iris? No. Iris is probably on the train to Kurain. I'll give her a call soon. I wish I could've gone with her to visit Maya and Pearls too, but at least I've got this case to keep me busy._

"Yeah. Polly and I."

"Apollo's here? Where?" Phoenix searched around but couldn't see the other attorney.

"Inside the office. He's silently moping about Athena leaving."

"I am not moping. I'm fine!" A voice bellowed from within the office.

_Sure, Apollo. Whatever you say. As if your "I'm fine" could fool me._

"Anyway Daddy. You never answered my question."

"Yeah. Where were you, Mr. Wright?" Apollo asked as he entered the room, crossing his arms.

_Whoa, whoa. What is this? I feel like a teenager who just came back home late and is being interrogated by his parents._ "I was out investigating."

"Investigating?" Apollo repeated.

"Oh! Does that mean you have a case, Daddy?" Trucy asked, clearly excited at the prospect of her father having a client to defend.

"He was probably investigating Mr. Eldoon's noodle stand for the cheapest soup he could get."

…_Well…that was what I was originally going to do, but I probably shouldn't say that._ "That's funny, Apollo. But yeah, I was investigating. A case."

"Oh! Tell us more, Daddy!"

"Yeah. Who's your client?"

Phoenix relayed the information about the case to them. Apollo pressed a finger to his forehead. "Wow. Sounds like a hard case. Have you figured out who's the real murderer?"

"No, I haven't. Right now, my best bet is to first of all, prove Mr. Banks didn't commit the crime, and second, to possibly suggest that this other patron, the shop owner who came into the bank, is a suspect."

"Well, I'm sure you'll find a way to turn things around when you get cornered in court tomorrow, Daddy!" Trucy replied, grinning.

_Even Trucy's positive that I'm going to get cornered in court._

"Speaking of cornered, who's the prosecutor?"

"Oh, I forgot to mention him, didn't I? I'll be up against Prosecutor Gavin."

"Prosecutor Gavin? Was he there investigating?" Apollo asked.

"Yeah, he was, although he seemed to be more concerned with trying to impress Ema and getting on her good side rather than investigating. I kinda felt bad for him. It must be rough."

"Hey, that's his choice." Apollo shrugged.

"Polly! Don't be so rude about it." Trucy frowned. "If only Athena, Kay, and I were successful at getting them together."

"At least you tried, Trucy, and it's the thought and effort you girls put into it that counts."

"They did put _a lot_ of effort into it, didn't they?" Apollo said, a smirk on his face.

"You're lucky Athena's not here, or she would've grilled you for saying that," the magician retorted.

"But she's not here, now is she? Speaking of Athena though." The younger defense attorney pulled out his cellphone. "She sent me a picture from inside the airplane."

Phoenix and Trucy huddle near him to see. "Hey! She's got a big smile on her face and is waving!"

Phoenix read the text under the image. "'Will miss you and everyone at the WAA.'"

"Wait, there's more." Apollo was now smiling as he swiped on the screen.

"Whoa. That flight attendant does _not_ look happy."

"And look at Athena, Daddy." The yellow-clad attorney in the picture had a sheepish smile on her face.

"She texted me that she had to turn off her phone, since she got yelled at." Apollo stowed his phone away. "She'll try to send an email or call when she gets to Europe."

Phoenix nodded his head before yawning. "Oh boy. I think it might be time we head home, Trucy."

"Alright, Daddy! Let me just get my things." Trucy went further into the office.

"You going to be okay, Apollo?"

Apollo's brows furrowed in confusion. "Uh…yes? Why…do you ask?"

"Since Athena's gone. I imagine you must miss her."

The other attorney crossed his arms, turning his head away. "No. I'm fine."

Phoenix walked over to him and put a hand on his shoulder. "It's not a bad thing to admit you miss her, Apollo. I mean, Iris is only two hours away, and I miss her."

"Yeah…you're…you're right."

"And if you want, you can always come spend a few nights with us. You're always welcome, you know."

"I…" Apollo hesitated. "I guess…one night…wouldn't kill me," he mumbled.

"That's the spirit. Just as long as you promise not to wake us up at five in the morning doing your Chords of Steel exercises."

"I'll keep that in mind."

Trucy jumped in-between them, wrapping an arm around their shoulders. "Lucky for you two, you've both got me! I'll double my efforts to make the two of you happy while your girlfriends are gone!"

Both lawyers chuckled, and with that, they closed the agency and went back to Phoenix's apartment.

As the attorney laid in his bed, he stared up at the ceiling. _Tomorrow's the first day of the trial. I hope I'm ready enough for it. _Little did the attorney know that he wasn't all that ready for what the future had in store for him.

* * *

**I really tried hard to come up with a name pun for the store, and sure enough, I couldn't. (Note: T****hanks to SuperSonicSmash for suggesting the new name for the store, Varia T.) ****The next chapter will be, as mentioned in Phoenix's internal monologue, the first day of the trial against Klavier Gavin! I'm super excited for it, and I hope you guys are too. **


	6. Chapter 6

**This chapter got so long, I split it into two. I hope you like it! The testimony is underlined.**

**Thanks to _SuperSonicSmash_ for suggesting the name for the store, Varia T. **

* * *

_**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Ace Attorney series characters!**_

Chapter 6

**March 6, 9:50 AM**

**District Court**

**Defendant Lobby No. # 6**

Phoenix stood in the lobby, patiently waiting for his client to appear. It wasn't too long once he arrived before Robin was escorted into the room. "Good morning, Mr. Banks."

"Good morning, Mr. Wright," the man greeted him with a dull voice.

_Someone's in a chipper mood._ "How are you doing?"

"Oh, alright."

_Your drooped shoulders and sullen expression say otherwise._ "Don't worry, Mr. Banks. I'll do my best to get you the not guilty verdict you deserve." Seeing that his words weren't helping to ease the man's tensions, Phoenix added, "I know the prosecutor who's handling this case. If he thinks you're not guilty, he won't give me much trouble."

As he hoped, that brought the other man's spirits up. "Really? That's encouraging."

The bailiff standing by the doors cleared his throat. "The trial is about to begin. You can enter the courtroom now."

"Good luck, Mr. Wright, and thank you for doing this."

"Thanks, but don't thank me just yet." _You can certainly do that after the trial's over._ He watched the officers escort his client away. _This will be an interesting trial. It'll be nice to have a fair-and-square trial with Gavin. Hopefully, things will go smoothly._

But when do trials with Phoenix Wright involved _ever_ go smoothly?

* * *

**March 6, 10:00 AM**

**District Court**

**Courtroom No. # 6**

"Court is now in session for the trial of…" The Judge stopped, frowning. "Er…who is the defendant of this case?"

Phoenix didn't drop his straight pose even when he was surprised by the Judge's question. "You don't know who the defendant for the case is, Your Honor?"

"No, I'm afraid I don't. You see, my brother was originally going to be presiding over this trial; however, he said he wasn't sure how he felt today. I think he may be coming down with a cold. So I gladly offered to take his place, and here I am."

"Very considerate of you, but let's not get too distracted, ja?" Klavier snapped his fingers a couple of times. "To answer your question, Herr Judge, the defendant is Robin Banks."

The elderly man's eyes widened. "The defendant is robbing banks?! Why, that's another heinous crime in and of itself!"

Phoenix quickly intervened. "No, no, Your Honor! The defendant's _name_ is Robin Banks. He doesn't go around robbing banks." _Sheesh, Your Honor. Way to make a joke out of my client's name. Not the best way to start his trial._

The Judge shut his eyes. "That's a rather...suspicious name."

Klavier didn't comment on the name or the remark the Judge made, but there was a hint of an amused grin on his face. "Anyway, in case you were curious Herr Judge, the prosecution is ready to blow the courthouse down with our performance."

On the opposite side of the room, Phoenix simply stated, "The defense is ready, Your Honor."

"Very well. Your opening statement please, Prosecutor Gavin."

"The victim for today's case is the manager of the C. T. Zen Bank, Macon Monet. He was killed in the lobby of the bank. He was hit in the head with a heavy object. Here's the autopsy report with the details."

Once the report was added to the court record, the Judge skimmed it. He shut his eyes, a pensive expression on his face. "Blunt force trauma to the head. Time of death between 12:45 and 12:58. Death was instantaneous. Quite a shame, but at least he didn't have to suffer too much."

"Very true. Once he was struck, he fell to the ground on his back, as you can see from this photo of the crime scene."

"The court accepts the photo as evidence."

"The important question that might be going through the minds of some of the audience members is who hit Herr Monet in his head? It was his own employee, Robin Banks."

"Objection!" Phoenix pointed his finger out at the prosecutor's bench. "That's yet to be decided, Prosecutor Gavin!"

"Now, now, Herr Wright. Please be patient and let me finish, ja? The prosecution would like to call its first witness whose testimony will inform us of the circumstances of the crime."

"Very well. The prosecution may call the witness to the stand."

* * *

"Your name and occupation, please."

_Prosecutor Gavin looks thrilled to see Ema. Can't say the same for her though._

Ema had a grumpy frown on her face as she stood behind the witness stand. "Ema Skye. I'm a detective for the police department. I also happen to be the detective assigned to this case."

Klavier had his hands in his pockets as he waited for her to finish. "You may give the court your testimony, if you would."

"I know that I need to testify! I didn't come here to stand and look grumpy!" She countered, her eyes flashing with anger.

_Please don't be that difficult with me, Ema._

"Always ready to argue, aren't you, Fraulein?" The prosecutor teased.

"Now, now. There's no need to bicker like this, you two. You're acting like a married couple. Now then, Detective Skye. Let's have your testimony."

_His Honor is lucky Ema didn't pelt him with snackoos for that remark. And from the looks of that grin on his face, Prosecutor Gavin might just give him a kiss._

Ema simply huffed, choosing to ignore what the Judge had said. "Sure."

_Alright Phoenix. Pay extra good attention to her testimony. There has to be some kind of contradiction in it…I hope._

The bank opens at seven in the morning for the public. It closes at 11:30 so that employees can have their lunch break.

A 911 call was made yesterday afternoon, at 12:58, two minutes before the bank was supposed to reopen.

The defendant had called to report that he found his boss on the ground, possibly injured, but definitely unresponsive.

The police arrived at the scene not too long after that, took a look around, and immediately arrested the defendant.

The Judge had his eyes closed as he was listening to the testimony. He opened his eyes afterwards. "So the crime was committed right before their lunch break ended."

"That's right. Apparently, according to the person who performed the autopsy, the victim had eaten lunch that day."

"Hopefully, he enjoyed that meal of his. He probably never thought it would be his last." Shaking his head, the Judge got himself back on track. "Very well. Mr. Wright, you may begin your cross-examination."

_Wow, Your Honor. That was a cheerful thought._ Phoenix cleared his throat. _So…I can't spot any contradictions at the moment, but maybe if I press her statements, I should get something. _"The bank opens at seven, closes for lunch time, and then reopens. When does the bank close then?"

"At five o'clock in the afternoon. They're open Monday through Friday, and on Saturday, they close at 12, not 11:30, and remain closed for the rest of the day," Ema explained.

"Herr Wright. There's no need to have Fraulein Detective answer questions that have no relevance to this case."

"Hey! Don't pick on Mr. Wright!" The detective scolded him. She then addressed Phoenix, her tone significantly lighter. "Ignore the fop over there, Mr. Wright. Feel free to ask me as many questions as you'd like."

_Thanks, Ema, but he's right. Pressing that statement really didn't help me out much. If I pressed her second statement, what information could I possibly get out of it? It would be easier to just skip it and go to the third one, but I don't want to take any risks._ "Of course. So Ema, er, Detective Skye. My client, Mr. Banks, called 911 two minutes before the bank reopened. That means the bank reopens at one."

"Well done, Herr Wright. I'm glad to see you were able to figure that out." The prosecutor couldn't help but pick on the man. "Or rather, I should commend you for your basic math skills."

_That's the kind of comeback Edgeworth would give me. He must be training his subordinates to be relentless with me._ "Thanks for the compliment, Prosecutor Gavin. I'm glad to see that you managed to maintain your ego for over seven years, although I'm sure that wasn't hard for you at all."

Ema gaped at Phoenix before grinning. The Judge's eyes widened, his gaze falling to his right. "Er…Prosecutor Gavin? Your response to that?"

A small frown found its way onto the blonde man's face. "Yes, well…I think you should go on with your cross-examination."

_Heh. It's a good thing I decided to press that statement; otherwise, I would've never been able to say that._ "Right. When Mr. Banks made the 911 call, do we know exactly what he said?"

"When dispatch contacted the police department, they said that the call was for the middle-aged bank manager at the bank called in by one of his employees. His condition was stated as being lying on his back on the floor, eyes closed, sprawled out, seemingly unconscious. The defendant said he thought he may have been injured."

"The description is exactly the same that of the police officers who were first at the scene gave. Matches the photo of the body too."

_No contradictions there. Now, I was waiting to press this statement._ "It doesn't make any sense though. Mr. Banks called 911 to get help for Mr. Monet. How does that make him the culprit?"

"Mr. Wright makes a good point. If the Chief Justice were to die suddenly in his quarters and I was there to call 911, why, the police might think _I_ was the one who killed him!" The Judge thought out loud with wide eyes.

_I think the police would be a little concerned about arresting you so quickly, Your Honor._

"I'll handle this, Fraulein Detective."

"But _I'm_ the one being cross-examined."

"But _I'm_ the prosecutor, ja? Moving on, while it's true that Herr Banks called 911, the fact that he was the one who made the call _would_ make him seem least likely to have committed the crime; however, I'm sure you'd agree with me when I say that this could've been done so that any suspicion he could have garnered would have been deflected. Obviously, that didn't end up being the case. I'd ask that Fraulein Detective testify about what the police discovered at the crime scene."

"Very well. Detective Skye, please testify to the court about this."

"Why should I testify if _he's_ just going to answer all of the questions during the cross-examination?" She grumbled. Nevertheless, the detective got ready to give her testimony.

_I have to find a contradiction in this testimony. If I don't…_

When the police arrived at the bank, they found the defendant standing above the victim, who was on the floor, like we saw in the crime scene photo.

There was an object right next to the defendant's feet and the victim's body. It was a binder for the Varia T store, and it had blood on the top corner of it.

Police took some fingerprints and found the defendant's fingerprints on the binder.

With some questioning and more examination of the crime scene, they made their arrest, taking the defendant into custody.

"The police discovered the murder weapon right next to the defendant and the victim?! Oh my. That sounds too good to be true."

"It does, doesn't it?" Ema questioned, neither smiling nor frowning.

"Anyway, as we mentioned, the murder weapon was the binder, with the defendant's fingerprints on it. Here is the binder that was used to rob Herr Monet's life."

"The court accepts this as evidence. This is interesting. Varia T. I haven't gone shopping recently. Perhaps I could go to this store and see if they have anything interesting there."

_Oh boy. I should've known that the murder weapon would be brought up. I better find that contradiction._ Everyone waited for the Judge to announce that Phoenix could start his cross-examination. After a minute though, Phoenix spoke up. "Er…Your Honor? May I start my cross-examination?"

"Hm…hm? Oh! Oh, yes. Yes. Sorry. I was a bit distracted looking at the products in this binder. Now, I'll definitely make a stop there in the near future." The Judge cleared his throat, trying to regain his serious composure. "Mr. Wright. Please begin with your cross-examination now."

_I love how he acts like this was somehow _my_ fault. But now's my chance to find and pin down the contradiction. I'm positive there has to be one in here._ "The police arrived at the scene of the crime after the call came and found the victim on the floor. So did they not notice the blood near the victim's head?"

"The forensics officers who later arrived at the scene didn't look for blood on the floor," Ema replied.

"Why wouldn't they check for blood? The victim had a wound on his head, didn't he?" The Judge's brows were furrowed in confusion.

"How about you have Mr. Rock God explain, Your Honor?" Ema suggested, almost glaring at the prosecution's bench.

"Prosecutor Gavin? Could you explain this?"

For an instant, Phoenix noticed Klavier's eyes widen in surprise. He then snapped his fingers with his eyes closed, "Gladly. You see…" He opened his eyes and stopped snapping. "I made a request to the forensics officers that they not test for blood near the body."

"Why would you make a request like that?"

"Ack! Well…I…knew how much Fraulein Detective loves to do her scientific investigations, so I wanted to give her a chance to test for any traces of blood. That was all."

"That's…an intriguing request to make, Prosecutor Gavin. Although it was very kind of you…"

Ema interrupted. "Kind? The fop? Yeah right."

"As I was saying, I don't quite understand why you would go so far as to ask forensics officers to not conduct a part of their investigation."

The prosecutor did not respond this time. _Really, Your Honor? Do you not realize why he did that? I would say it's pretty obvious how Prosecutor Gavin feels about Ema. _

"Let's just move along with the cross-examination." Phoenix didn't want the silence to become awkward, nor did he want to waste time. "In your second statement Detective, you said the binder was found near both men. Did the police happen to question the defendant about it?"

"When the officers asked him about it, he said he was given the binder by the owner of the store, Varia T. There wasn't much else they asked him about it other than that. They wanted to search for fingerprints on it, which is when they discovered Mr. Banks's fingerprints."

_The fingerprints. Right. What can I ask about that? Could I get anything from pressing that statement? Maybe not. I need to focus on finding the contradiction. _"What exactly did the officers ask Mr. Banks?"

"The usual. What were you doing before you found him? How he found him? Did he appear to be alive or dead when he first saw him? Was there anyone else with them in the building? Questions like that. The officers were already pretty convinced that the defendant was the guilty party."

"Hm…something's been bothering me for a little while." The Judge was deep in thought. He then stared right across the room. "Detective Skye. You're the detective for this case, yet it seems you weren't as involved in the investigation as you usually are. Is there a reason for that?"

She turned to the side, her lips pursed. "I wasn't actually the detective on this case at first. The detective who was originally assigned to the case didn't want to handle it, so it was given to me."

"Oh. I see. Thank you for clarifying."

"Herr Judge, Surely, you see that this case is quite simple, ja? The defendant used the binder, on which his very fingerprints were found…" The blonde leaned forward, his gaze fixed on the defense's bench. "To deliver a fatal blow on the victim's head!"

"Objection! We can't say this case is simple!"

"But you can't deny that the evidence points to Herr Banks, no?" Klavier countered.

"Mr. Wright. Prosecutor Gavin does make a point. Unless you can find a contradiction in the testimony Detective Skye has given, I'll have no choice but to end the cross-examination."

_No, no! I can't let the trial end like this! Not when we've only started! Come on, Phoenix. Think of a contradiction. I know it's there. I need to look at the evidence in the court record. Crime scene photo, no. Autopsy report, no. Mr. Banks's card, no. The murder weapon…hm…it's something to do with the murder weapon. What does it say? The defendant's fingerprints were found…wait. Wait!_

"Herr Judge, I believe it's time you slammed your gavel and state your verdict."

"Hold it!" Phoenix slammed his hands on the desk. "There _is_ a contradiction in the testimony." Holding a document in front of him, the attorney elaborated. "Detective Skye. You said that the defendant's fingerprints were found on the murder weapon, and that was one of the discoveries that prompted his arrest, right?"

"That's right."

"Well, did they not look into the _second_ set of fingerprints?"

"Second set of fingerprints?! What are you talking about, Mr. Wright?!" The Judge exclaimed, clearly surprised by the statement.

"If you look over the end of the document talking about the murder weapon, you'll find that a second set was found on the binder, for which an owner hasn't been identified."

The Judge did as Phoenix said. "Why…he's right! There were more fingerprints found other than the defendant's!"

"Who's to say that the owner of these fingerprints isn't the real murderer?" Phoenix declared. "After all, besides Mr. Banks being the only person at the scene when the police arrived, the only other evidence the prosecution's presented to make their case is the binder!"

"Prosecutor Gavin! Please explain to the court the meaning of this!"

To their surprise, Klavier had his head bowed down, and they could hear him chuckling. He lifted his head, smiling. "It would've been disappointing if you hadn't pointed out that contradiction, Herr Wright."

_Usually I feel great after pointing out a contradiction, but now I've got a sinking feeling in my stomach._

"I know of the second set of fingerprints, _and_ I know who they belong to."

The attorney wasn't expecting to hear that. "You do?"

"You do?" The Judge repeated.

"I do."

"Then tell us already. Who do they belong to, Prosecutor Gavin?!"

"They belong…to the prosecution's next witness."

"Next witness? Who is this witness?"

"This witness is a man who will shed light on this second fingerprint business Herr Wright has finally brought to the court's attention. He will help to prove that Herr Banks is indeed guilty."

_Another witness? Who could that be?_

"Very well. We will have a five minute recess before the next witness is called to the stand."

_Five minute recess? That's really short, although…Prosecutor Blackquill did once ask for a three minute recess, so this is better than that. I won't be able to get much info from Mr. Banks. Oh well. I guess it's enough time for a bathroom break…and to wipe up all of this sweat. Ugh. Hopefully, I won't be sweating bullets anymore after this recess._

* * *

**The second part of the trial should be uploaded soon!**


	7. Chapter 7

**I left a longer author's note at the bottom of this chapter. Just one warning: this chapter is long and a bit tedious, but I'm hoping it's still interesting, or at the very least, entertaining!  
**

* * *

**_Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Ace Attorney series characters!_**

Chapter 7

**March 6, 11:30 AM**

**District Court**

**Courtroom No. # 6**

The recess ended for Phoenix as quickly as it began. The prosecution, defense, and the judge were ready in their respective places in the courtroom.

"Bailiff, please summon the witness to the stand."

_Who is this witness they're bringing? I don't think I've ever met him before._

The witness was a man who Phoenix judged as being in his mid-forties or fifties. He was bald with a mustache and beard, which were predominantly gray with a few specks of brown in them. He wore a pale green suit with a white shirt inside and pants the same color as the suit. A green ascot with dollar signs printed on it was tied neatly around his neck.

"Witness. Please state your name and occupation for the record."

With a grin on his face, the man spoke. "My name is Benny. Benny Factor. I'm the owner of the shop, Varia T."

"Ah! So you're the owner of that wonderful store, are you? I was just looking through your catalogue, and I would love to visit."

The man's smile grew, his gray eyes becoming just a bit wider at the prospect of having a new customer. "Why, I would be honored to have a man of your prestigious position shop at my store, Your Honor. I could even give you a discount."

"I like the sound of a discount!"

"I like the sound of my cash register after a transaction!"

"I like the sound of millions of fan screaming for the Gavinners to play."

_And I like the sound of my client getting a not-guilty verdict, and that won't happen if they keep talking like this._ "Ahem. Your Honor. Do you think we could get back to the trial please?" Phoenix reminded him.

"Oh! Y-yes. Prosecutor Gavin, please don't distract the court from the matters at hand."

_Nice, Your Honor, but at least he aimed at Prosecutor Gavin and not me._

"Of course, Herr Judge. Herr Factor. Please, testify to the court about what _you_ were doing yesterday, around the time of the crime."

"I'll be more than happy to. Anything to help get rid of the villains."

…_Okay then. _

"The morning of the crime, I was working at my shop, Varia T. It opens at nine o'clock in the morning and closes at five in the evening.

"I had received a phone call from Mr. Banks, expressing that he was pleased with the last purchase he made at my store and wanted to buy something else.

"I decided I would close up the shop early for lunch and head over to the bank to bring the binder with the catalogue in it.

I went to the bank, gave him the binder, and then left."

"So you went to the bank to give the defendant the binder and left soon afterwards," the Judge stated. "Very well. Mr. Wright, your cross-examination please."

"Yes, Your Honor." _Benny Factor. It's a shame I didn't get to meet him before today. Maybe I could've gotten more information out of him. For now, I'll have to depend on his testimony and hope I can get something from it. _"So Mr. Factor."

"Please, call me Benny. Everyone calls me Benny, which is what I prefer, but if you really want to call me Mr. Factor, that's fine too. Whatever helps keep the fire burning."

"R-right. You said you were working at your shop that morning. Did you have a lot of work to do?"

"No. Just the usual checking products and displays to make sure they're in tip-top condition, and talking to customers too. Had a number of customers come in the morning, I did."

"Herr Wright. Would you care to explain why you pressed that particular statement?"

"Er…well…I was just…curious to know if he has a lot of work to do as a shopkeeper. That's not something I would know about, unless I was a shopkeeper myself." _Or maybe I was settling on pressing all of his statements without a second thought on whether or not I would get useful information out of them. Maybe._

"I see. Anyway, moving along."

Phoenix considered the second statement of the testimony. Tapping his chin, he spoke aloud. "You got a phone call from Mr. Banks. What time was that?"

"Oh…I would say…about an hour after I opened up the shop, so ten."

"What did you specifically talk about in your call, if you don't mind my asking?"

"He told me how much he adored the alarm clock he bought from my store!"

"An alarm clock?" The Judge asked, unsure of what was so special about an alarm clock.

"Yes. It's got the loudest ring to it. You wouldn't miss it even if you were in the basement and it was in the attic! It's old-fashioned looking but works wonders! You can get it in a multitude of colors. It's the best alarm clock you could possibly find!" Benny stated, his chest puffing up.

_If he's talking about that alarm clock Ema and I saw yesterday while investigating, I have to say it's not as impressive as he's trying to make it out to be. It's just another alarm clock. _

"Is that so? Well then, I'll need to purchase one for myself. My current alarm clock hasn't been working very well. In fact, it almost made me arrive late to court today!"

"That's why you need to buy an alarm clock from me as soon as possible, Your Honor. You really should come to the store. When you shop at Varia T, you always leave happy!"

"A catchy phrase, Herr Factor."

"Thank you. I know."

_Well someone didn't just promote himself in court._

"As I was saying, Mr. Banks was so pleased with what he's bought that he wanted to see what else I offered and sold. That's when I decided I would go over to the bank and give him the binder."

_Now onto the third statement._ "You closed up your shop to get an early lunch, just so you could go to the bank and give Mr. Banks the binder. Why were you in such a rush to give it to him?"

The man grinned, shrugging his shoulders. "Why not rush?"

"Uh…" Phoenix didn't have a reply for the man, who only chortled.

"I wasn't expecting you to have an answer, Mr. Wright! I was in a rush because I wanted to get it to him quickly and not keep him waiting. It's never good etiquette to keep a customer waiting. Also, the products in that catalog are quite fast-selling, you know. There'll be a whole bunch of merchandise available at nine-thirty, but at eleven or even ten-thirty, they could be out-of-stock. Gone! I wanted to ensure Mr. Banks would be able to get whatever he wants."

_Well, that was very helpful to me. Not._ "In the last part of your testimony, you very simply said you went to the bank, handed over the binder, and left. Would you care to elaborate?"

"I would love to elaborate, if I can. I have to warn you though. It's just as long as this whole testimony I just gave."

_Whoa. Okay then. That _does_ work to my advantage, since I didn't find any contradictions in this first testimony. _

"Alright, witness. Please testify to the court about what you did when you went to the bank on the day of the murder."

"Certainly!"

_Time to hear another testimony. _

"When I arrived at the bank, they were just about to close up for their lunch break.

"I saw the bank manager, who was working behind the counter. He waved at me before he went and disappeared into the back room, where the safe deposit boxes are.

"I went over to Mr. Banks's spot with the binder. He was right there behind the counter, but he told me to wait about fifteen minutes or so before he could talk.

"I showed him the catalog in the binder and showed him how he could place an order.

"Afterwards, I bid him farewell and left the bank at around 12:30 to return to and reopen my store."

"So you saw the victim the day of the crime, did you?" The Judge questioned.

"I did. He was a nice man, Macon. Such a shame this had to happen to him. He didn't deserve that."

"No one deserves to get murdered," Klavier added.

"The defense may begin its cross-examination."

_Ugh. I can't see any contradictions right now. This guy's testimony can't be perfect. There has to be some kind of flaw in it, and I'll make sure to find it! _"The bank was about to close up when you got there, you said. How did you know that?"

"It just so happens that I do my banking at C. T. Zen bank, so I made sure to know what their schedule is. Wouldn't do me much good to go there when they weren't open, right?" The man let out a hearty chuckle, his shoulders shaking and his head tilted back.

"Right. Anyway, you saw the bank manager. Did you know him well?"

"We weren't old chums or anything, but I did know him. As I said, he was a nice young fellow."

"Young fellow? He did appear to be rather old," the Judge mused.

_And you're not up there in age, Your Honor? Speaking of which, just how old is he anyway? I mean, he's got grandchildren, so he's got to be pretty old. Ugh. I'm getting distracted!_ _Time to get my head in the game, er…in the trial._ "Mr. Banks had you wait for fifteen minutes. Do you know what he was doing at the time?"

The man frowned, his left hand going up to twist the end of his mustache. "He appeared to be jotting down some notes about something, and he told me he needed to wrap up some administrative work. I believe he also spoke with the bank manager briefly during the time, but to be honest, I didn't take much notice really. I was too busy going through the catalog, thinking about what products I could recommend for him to buy!"

_He spent fifteen minutes looking through that binder?! This man sure loves to sell stuff to people. I should steer clear from his shop, or he'll definitely convince me to get something, I'm sure._ Phoenix rubbed his chin. "Can you tell us more about how you showed Mr. Banks the binder and how to make the order?"

"Oh ho ho ho! You want me to tell you more? If I did that, it would take me a little less than an hour and fifteen minutes to do that! It's a long process to do ordering through the catalogue."

"A little less than an hour and fifteen minutes? Oh my! That's quite a long time. It sounds like a difficult process!" The Judge commented.

"It is, unfortunately. I'm still working to make the process much simpler, but it's taking more time than I hoped it would," Benny explained.

Phoenix remained silent during the brief exchange, considering the statement just given. "Your Honor. The defense requests that the witness's statement be added to his testimony."

"You do? Alright then. Witness, please add that statement to your testimony."

_Now time to press that last statement, and I can pin down this contradiction once and for all._ "You left the bank at 12:30 to go back and reopen your store?"

"That's right. I can't keep my customers waiting. That would be preposterous."

"Yeah. That would be very preposterous," Phoenix began quietly, only to pick up in volume as he continued. "But not as preposterous as the fact that you just lied in your testimony!"

"What?!" The man exclaimed, a hand on his chest and his mouth agape. He leaned back a few inches, as if he'd been physically attacked by someone. "You're accusing me of lying?!"

"That's exactly what I'm accusing you of!"

"What are you accusing this man of lying about, Mr. Wright?"

"It's simple if you think about it. Mr. Factor said that he came to the bank at 11:30. After waiting fifteen minutes for Mr. Banks, starting at 11:45, he went through the catalog. That, as the witness stated in his testimony, took less than, but almost, an hour and fifteen minutes. After that, he left. If we do the math…" He aimed his finger at the witness stand. "The witness actually left the bank at around 1 PM, not 12:30!"

"Y-you're absolutely right!" The Judge replied, surprised by the contradiction.

"Coupling this information with the fact that the witness's fingerprints were on the murder weapon, we can't deny that the witness is a prime suspect in this case!"

"Witness! You will explain to the court the meaning of all this!" His Honor demanded.

Benny seemed fazed for a moment, only to close his eyes and nod his head in approval. "I must say. The defense did an impressive job pointing out the contradiction I made. I'm afraid he's correct when he said I didn't leave the bank at 12:30. However, I can't let you suggest I'm the culprit of this heinous crime."

"And why is that?" _He looks pretty confident in himself. That's worrying. _

Benny lowered his head slightly, a small smile now on his face. "Because I have an alibi. Firstly, I would like to say sorry for giving incorrect information about when I left the bank. My watch wasn't working properly that day, so while _it_ said I left at 12:30, in reality, I left at 12:50. As for my alibi, I stopped at the post office that's between my store and the bank, and that was at 12:52. I was there until one, and then I walked back to my store."

Klavier, who had been silent for quite a while, finally intervened. "Before you try to suggest otherwise, Herr Wright, I can tell you that I had some officers go to the post office and check to see if the witness's alibi was indeed true, and it was. According to the video cameras there, he entered at 12:52 and exited at one o'clock sharp. We have witnesses too who confirmed this."

"No way!" _That contradiction didn't help me out one bit. _Phoenix wasn't about to give up just yet. "But according to the autopsy report, the time of death was between 12:45 and 12:58. The witness was at the bank during this time frame, which means that Mr. Banks isn't the only one to be suspected!"

Klavier let out a short chuckle. "Herr Wright. It would appear that you are mistaken, or rather, you have been misled."

"W-what?" _I don't like where this is going…_

"You say that the autopsy report stated the time of death was between 12:45 and 12:58. Well, I have to say that the autopsy report you are looking at…is outdated."

…_No. No way. He's not going to…_ The attorney saw the prosecutor pull out another file. _He is. _

"During the recess we had, I was given an updated autopsy report. I would like to submit it as evidence."

_First Edgeworth, then Prosecutor Blackquill, and now Prosecutor Gavin. Prosecutors must really have a thing for updated autopsy reports. _

The report was added to the court record, and Klavier continued. "If you check under the time of death heading, you will clearly see that the time of death has been much more precisely determined."

Phoenix read the report, his eyes widening. "12…12:55? That's when the victim was murdered?!" _I can't believe this! That means Mr. Banks is still the only person who'd be considered the culprit!_

"The court will have to reject the defense's argument about the witness being a potential suspect."

"It looks like the defense is about to be backed into a corner, Herr Judge. Perhaps you would like to make things easier on them and prepare to declare your verdict?" Klavier suggested.

"If the defense has nothing else to say, then I will have to give my verdict."

Phoenix couldn't believe it. This couldn't be the end. His client…his client was counting on him to secure a not guilty verdict, but given the way the trial was going, it seemed that Robin was still suspected of as being the man responsible for the murder. The defense attorney thought hard about how he could turn the case around, if possible at this point in time.

_I can't establish that another person committed the crime yet, so maybe I could…work with the murder weapon? That's my only hope now. Time to do what I do best._ Phoenix hit his hands firmly on the stand. "Your Honor. The defense believes that the binder is not the actual murder weapon in this case."

"I agree, Your Honor!"

"Witness? What do you mean? Do _you_ know what the real murder weapon is?"

The man shook his head before smiling sheepishly. "I'm afraid I don't, Your Honor. The only thing I know is that my binder is _not_ the murder weapon. I mean, it's _my_ binder!"

_You've gotta be kidding me._ _Please don't interrupt me while I'm bluffing. _

Klavier's shoulders could be seen shaking as he laughed to himself. "Unfortunately witness, that's won't cut it. But I am quite intrigued by Herr Wright's outrageous claim. Surely, you'll explain your reasoning for this, ja?"

"Do you have a piece of evidence that proves the murder weapon could be something else, Mr. Wright?"

_Do I have a piece of evidence that does that?_ The attorney searched through the court record, looking at each object carefully. _What shows that the binder might not be the murder weapon? _He took a good look over everything once more, and that's when he noticed something. _That's weird…I forgot about those circles drawn with the body's outline. What could they be? _

At the very least, he could bring up this interesting find to the court. "Prosecutor Gavin. You examined the crime scene yesterday. Didn't you notice where the body was found, there were some circles near the outline?"

After a few moments, Klavier nodded his head. "Ja. I do remember them. Which reminds me, I have a picture taken of the crime scene after the body was moved."

Phoenix was relieved to see the second photo added to the court record. "If you'll look at the photo, you'll see the circles I mentioned."

"Why yes! I do see them! They are rather small though. What are they supposed to be tracings of?" The Judge asked no one in particular.

"The defense asserts that the circles are meant to represent coins."

"Coins?" The Judge repeated.

"Yes, coins. Prosecutor Gavin, you must know what those circles are, being the prosecutor in charge of this case."

"Indeed I do. It just so happens that Herr Wright is…well…right. Coins were found near the victim's body."

"What does that mean though?"

_I'm sure it means that the murder weapon wasn't the binder. But if it's not the binder, then…_ Phoenix remained quiet, an idea forming in his head. "…Prosecutor Gavin. Could you give us some details about the coins found?"

"Hm? You want details…about coins? You make very strange requests, Herr Wright. This seems harmless enough, although I do wonder if I should be worried. Anyhow, ten coins were found near the victim's body. One penny, two nickels, three dimes, and four quarters."

_That's...strange how those numbers came out so perfectly._

"Where do you propose the coins came from? Maybe from the victim's pocket?" The Judge suggested.

"That's not likely, Herr Judge. Herr Monet did not carry any money on his person."

"No money on his person? Then what if he needed money to buy something, or for an emergency?!" The Judge was astounded at the thought.

"Perhaps no one has introduced to you the concept of a debit card or better yet, a credit card."

"...I do happen to know of credit and debit cards, Prosecutor Gavin, but I do prefer to use paper money and coins."

"Unlike the victim. He was all cards and no cash."

"But what relevance do these coins have to the current case?"

"Ah, I was going to ask that same question, Herr Judge. I expect the defense to have a good answer for us." The prosecutor gave a knowing look to Phoenix.

They'd caught Phoenix a bit off guard. He was hoping they would steer farther away on their tangent, but they were back on course. "Ahem. As Prosecutor Gavin said, those coins didn't come from the victim. So the question is where did they come from?"

"A-are you asking me that question, Mr. Wright? How would I know where those coins came from?!"

"I didn't direct that question at you, Your Honor. I simply posed the question."

"Alright then. You posed the question, now can you give us the answer?" Klavier challenged.

_This is going out there, but I have to give it a shot and buy more time._ The defense attorney placed his hands on his hips, chest puffing out as a triumphant smile spread across his face. "I can and will give you the answer, Prosecutor Gavin. The coins were near the body...because of the piggy bank!"

"..."

"..."

"..." The courtroom was completely silent.

"..." _Someone please say something._

"A piggy bank?" The Judge asked, not convinced by the answer.

"Yes, a piggy bank."

"And what makes you so sure that the…piggy bank is involved in our case, Herr Wright?"

"What is this piggy bank all of you are talking about anyway? I've yet to hear about or see a piggy bank earlier in the trial!" The Judge demanded.

"A piggy bank was found at the bank, Herr Judge. Here it is." The steel piggy bank was brought out and inserted into the court record.

"It's quite the cute little piggy bank, isn't i-oh! It's rather heavy!" The Judge mused as he examined it.

"It _is_ made of steel," Klavier replied. "Now how about we let Herr Wright complete his bluff, ja?"

…_Is it that obvious I'm bluffing?_ "I'm not bluffing, Prosecutor Gavin!" _Time to make this bluff believable. _"Piggy banks have coins in them, don't they?"

"Of course. But you can't just claim that the piggy bank is important without evidence, Herr Wright."

"Mr. Wright. Do you happen to have evidence that can connect the piggy bank to the crime?"

_Good question. Do I have the evidence? …Let me think this over._ Phoenix thought about the investigation yesterday he did with Ema. _What did we find at the crime scene besides the piggy bank? We saw that cup, the alarm clock, the notepad with 1000 written on it, the other notepad with all those letters and numbers…_ The defense attorney shut his eyes as he pored over the evidence in his head.

_I don't think the alarm clock and the cup are relevant to this case. But the notepads…the notepads are important. The 1000, I don't know how that fits into this case, but…the other notepad. Those letters…P, N, D, and Q. …Could…those stand for coins? Maybe…P stands for penny, n stands for nickel, d for dime, and…q for quarter! That has to be it! But we found that notepad at Percy's work area, not Mr. Banks…unless…unless it really is Mr. Banks's and someone moved it…_

Phoenix wasn't one hundred percent certain his theory was correct, but he decided it was worth a shot to pursue it. "I do happen to have some evidence that will link the piggy bank to this case."

"Oh?" The prosecutor quirked an eyebrow, a smirk tugging at his lips. "I'd love to see this evidence of yours."

"During the investigation yesterday, a notepad was found containing a few letters and numbers on it. Detective Skye would know about this."

Ema, who was standing nearby, piped into the conversation. "Yeah, I do know about it. It's been approved by the Police Department, so it can be added as evidence."

"Hm…interesting. Who does this notepad belong to though?" His Honor inquired.

"Uh…well…"

"It belongs to me!" A new voice spoke up. Phoenix glanced at his client. _Mr. Banks. What does he mean? _"That notepad belongs to me. If you look on the back, on the cardboard part, you'll see my name stamped on it."

The Judge did as he was directed, and he gasped. "Why…he's right! This does belong to one Mr. Robin Banks!"

_Wh-what?! I can't believe I missed that! This is great!_ "If you read the first page of the notepad, you'll see that the letters I mentioned, followed by a dash and a number. The defense believes that these letters stand for types of coins, and the numbers represent how many of the coins are in the piggy bank."

"Hm…that's an interesting theory, Mr. Wright, and I'm inclined to believe it to be true."

"I, on the other hand, would like more proof to be shown, because from what I'm hearing, it seems like the defense is proposing that the real murder weapon in this case is not the binder, but the piggy bank."

_Is that what I'm proposing? I mean, it makes perfect sense that it would be the piggy bank, given the coins near the body. Now it's a matter of proving it for sure._ "Your Honor. What else does that page say on the notepad?" He recalled not reading the rest of the notes written on it.

"Hm…at the bottom, there's a date on it. March 5th. That's…that's yesterday!"

"I can explain." Robin spoke up once more. "While I was on my lunch break, before I spoke with Mr. Factor, I was doing inventory, so to speak, checking the money in the piggy bank. I like to put dates on all of my work."

Phoenix nodded. "Thank you for clearing this up, Mr. Banks. Now, if we were to add up the values of the coins, we would get…" He frowned. "Er…Does anyone have a calculator?"

"Er…no, I don't keep a calculator handy, I'm afraid," The Judge answered.

"Never fear. I have a calculator on my phone. I'll crunch the numbers," Klavier offered. Everyone in the courtroom waited in silence for him to finish. "One hundred eighteen dollars and sixty cents. That's the total amount."

"According to that sheet, that's how much should be in the piggy bank. Your Honor. The defense requests to have the piggy bank examined to find out how much money it contains."

"Very well. Bailiff! Count how much money is in the piggy bank."

Once more, the courtroom was quiet, save for the bailiff, who mumbled to himself as he performed his assigned task. Finally, after what felt like hours but was only a few minutes, he went to the Judge and whispered to him. "According to the bailiff, the piggy bank has one hundred seventeen dollars and nineteen cents in it."

"Prosecutor Gavin. Could you subtract that value from the first value you calculated?"

Klavier nodded at Phoenix. "Sure." He did the calculation. "The value now is one dollar and forty-one cents." Klavier frowned, his confident pose faltering.

_Yes! I knew it._ "One dollar and forty-one cents, huh?" Phoenix grinned. "Let's think back to what you said earlier, about the coins found near the body. One penny, two nickels, three dimes, and four quarters. If I'm not mistaken, that would add up to a grand total of…" The attorney raised his voice. "One dollar and forty cents!"

"Why, you're right! But if that's the case, then that means…"

Phoenix's hands slammed the desk hard. "Exactly! That the murder weapon was not the binder, but actually the piggy bank!"

"I want that piggy bank to be tested by forensics for any traces of blood," the Judge demanded.

"It's possible that the blood was wiped off after the crime and then placed back on the counter. That way, no one would think it was the murder weapon," was the clarification Phoenix made.

It didn't take long for the results to come back, and the Judge read over them. "The piggy bank tested positive for blood, and upon further examination, it was indeed the victim's blood found on it. To think, a cute little piggy bank like this was used to murder someone." The Judge shook his head.

"I can't believe one of my products was used to take someone's life!" Benny yelled, quite distraught.

Phoenix ignored the shopkeeper's reaction to the news. "Clearly, my client couldn't have been the one to kill the victim given that the binder isn't the murder weapon!" Phoenix stated, feeling quite satisfied. _I think I've done it! _

The Judge looked to the prosecution's bench. "Prosecutor Gavin. What do you have to say about this?"

Nothing was said at first. The prosecutor was moving his fingers, making several poses. Phoenix held in a groan. _And there's his infamous air guitar. I get this feeling I should be worried._

Once he ended his air guitar performance, the prosecutor began talking. "Herr Wright. Quite the deduction you made. However…it's like one instrument playing the wrong note in an orchestra."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning it sticks out like a sore thumb. It ruins the performance of the whole orchestra, just like that deduction ruins your whole argument."

_What do you mean my deduction ruined my whole argument? And why do you have to make all these connections to music?! I may have been a pianist, but I wasn't a good one, and I'm not exactly musically-inclined!_

"You just proved that the murder weapon was _not_ the binder, but was in fact that steel piggy bank."

With a nod of his head, Phoenix confirmed the statement. "That's correct, Prosecutor Gavin." _Now if you'd tell me where I went wrong…_

"But what makes you so sure that the discovery of the actual murder weapon clears your client of all suspicion? That's what your argument has been all of this time, hasn't it? That because the murder weapon wasn't the binder, your client is innocent."

The attorney opened his mouth to retort, only for his shoulders to droop as he grimaced. _He's right. That doesn't really get Mr. Banks off the hook, but I can't give in yet._ Slamming his hands on the desk once more, Phoenix trudged on. "While that may be true, you have to admit that the possibility remains that someone else committed the crime."

"Yes, there would be the possibility. However, did you think to inquire about the owner of this piggy bank?"

…_No, I didn't. I just thought the bank owned it, but now, I'm guessing I was wrong in thinking that._ "I didn't ask about the owner of the piggy bank, no."

"Ah. Then you're in for a quite the surprise, Herr Wright. The owner of that piggy bank is…" Klavier slammed his fist against the wall behind him, then extended his arm, pointing to the defendant. "Herr Banks!"

"Wh-wh-what?!" Phoenix gasped. "N-no way! That can't be possible!"

"How about we ask the man in question himself? Herr Banks!" Klavier glanced at the defendant. "The steel piggy bank. It's yours, ja?"

_Please say no. Please say no. Please say no!_

"Y-yes, it is."

_He said yes._ "N-NOOOOOOOOOOOO!" _But that would make him seem even more suspicious, wouldn't it? But wait!_ "What about fingerprints? Are there any fingerprints on the piggy bank?"

"Even better, Herr Wright. The real murder weapon had only the defendant's prints on them."

_No way! Just when I thought I was close to getting Mr. Banks his not guilty verdict, he's one step away from being declared guilty! I need to find a way to stall the trial! I need more time!_ "Your Honor! The defense would like to request more time to investigate the crime scene and conduct a more thorough investigation."

"Hm…" The Judge had his eyes shut as he thought. "Although it does appear that the defendant very well may have committed the crime, I don't mind granting you more time to further investigate, Mr. Wright. What about you, Prosecutor Gavin? Are you alright with granting the defense more time?"

With a few snaps of his fingers, Klavier opened his eyes and smiled. "Of course, Herr Judge. Not that I think it'll do much good for the defense, but if Herr Wright wants more time, he can have it. It just so happens that I'd also like to have some more time to look into matters as well."

"Very well. The defense and the prosecution will be allowed the rest of today to complete their investigation. For now, the court is adjourned."

* * *

**Oh boy. This first part of the trial was a huge hurtle to get over. I have an increased amount of respect for the writers of Ace Attorney. I realized that there is **_**a lot**_** of work into coming up with cases and trials such as those in Ace Attorney. For that reason, I might take longer in getting the next chapter uploaded. I want to try to get a lot of the story written, or at the very least, more thoroughly planned out because right now I have a general outline for it. So if I don't update for a long while (like a month or two), that is probably why. But feel free to leave reviews and let me know how you think it's going so far! Thanks!**


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